Life, Unexpected
by Gigi13
Summary: Lindsey had become complacent with his position at W&H, and with the general direction his life was headed, and then he finds out he has a kid. How will he handle it? Will W&H be accepting of his new personal life?  Ratings for occasional cursing.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a new version of a previous Lindsey story I wrote, but obviously there will be many differences. I haven't written fanfiction in a while but this idea wouldn't get out of my head lately.

A/N2: Everything in between /_these_/ are Lindsey's thoughts.

Timeline; AU after Dead End. Lindsey got his hand back and stayed. Angel's away mourning Buffy. Also, since season 2 was actually a while ago, some pop culture references might be out of place for back then. Sorry. I'm not as young as I used to be ;-) Angel and co. will appear soon enough in later chapters.

It was a slow day for Wolfram and Hart, specifically for Lindsey. Sure he had spent the morning in court getting off a group of men who sold organs on the black market to desperate people, but that was nothing new. It was also the only thing he _had_ to do that day. It was almost one o'clock and he was experiencing something he rarely felt since his days in the mailroom.

Boredom.

It was summer, and apparently even Evil took summers off, to an extent. Angel, who had consumed the majority of his past year, was even off somewhere mourning yet another "love" of his. He wondered if he was the only one without anything else to do but spend his days working. Hell, even Lilah was leaving early that day to do something with her mother.

The lawyer leaned back in his chair and glanced up at the big screen TV in his office. Oakland was facing the Yankees, so it was also a rare occasion in which he got to watch a Yankee game at work on a local California station instead of relying on the MLB package he had at home. He didn't understand why so many people hated on the Yankees; because they had a reputation for winning? Winning was the name of the game, every game, in Lindsey's mind. Not to mention when money is spent, it better damn well be earned. He hated when money wasn't earned. "Nice twelve-grand strikeout A-Rod!" He yelled at the television, before turning back to his computer.

"What, you were expecting him to come through in the clutch?" a very familiar female voice said in the doorway. He wasn't expecting her at all today, but he certainly wasn't disappointed by her appearance.

Lindsey looked over and saw his secretary, Samantha "Sam" DeSantis. He personally hired Sam when Holland gave him his first big promotion after the Vanessa incident and as he moved up in the company, he had taken her with him. She had been applying for a secretarial position for the interns, as she was straight out of a secretarial school and still had "teen" in her age at that time. Lindsey always had a good sense for reading people and she caught his attention, so he gave her an interview. During the interview, he had asked her "A lot of girls might be jealous that they've been here a long time and you will be automatically getting a top position, do you think you can handle that?" She answered with "What do I care what a bunch of girls that will die of skin cancer within the next decade say about me?" She won him over instantly.

Sam was not alone in the doorway, which did kind of surprise Lindsey. A little girl popped her head over the stack of cookies she was holding to look at the lawyer. "Mommy calls him A-Hole," the girl said informatively.

"I know," Lindsey smiled. "What brings you two here? I though you took off today?"

"I think I left my cell phone here. Well, I hope I left it here," Sam answered, then she pointed to the cookies "plus the Thin Mints you ordered from my niece arrived and I know how you've been looking forward to them." She wasn't wrong. They were his favorite cookies, and he had been awaiting them.

The girl when over to his desk and put them down. "Here, Mr. McDonald."

"Thank you, Teresa. So is your cousin giving you anything for your delivery service?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "No… but she got a bike for selling them," 4-year old Teresa answered.

Lindsey gasped in mock-horror, "Well, don't you know you're entitled to at least a certain amount of rides?"

"I am?"

"Well, you carried six boxes, that should get you six rides. Tell her you consulted your lawyer about this. But I don't work for free. Want to do me a favor?" he asked, picking up two boxes of the cookies.

"Sure," the girl answered.

"Go to Lilah Morgans office and put them on her desk, right on top of her salad. I know she just stepped out." Teresa did as she was asked.

"Isn't Lilah trying really hard to lose ten pounds?" Sam wondered.

"Yup," he replied with a smirk. He had to get his laughs somewhere.

"In the future, don't use my daughter for your evil plots," she warned.

Lindsey shrugged. "That's what happens when you step into the building."

"I know. I wish I could have come alone, but my mom was asked to sub a summer school class and my dad's working as usual. Good thing I have her convinced the demons are guys in costumes."

Lindsey hit a button on his phone. "To sacrifice a child or pet, press one," the recording said through the speaker. "Thanks," she muttered, even though they both knew it was only the lawyers and other higher-ups that made such sacrifices. The cleaning crews and secretaries were rarely menaced by the Senior Partners. Sam went over to her desk and began to look for her phone. Lindsey tried to focus back on his computer screen, but he was finding it difficult. They both knew what people thought about them. He didn't deny she was attractive. Dark long hair, dark eyes, naturally tanned skin, her height and body shape was her only similarity to Darla; he figured she'd have no problem getting a role in a mafia movie, if she wanted. Having spent just over half her life in Brooklyn, with the accent and attitude always on display, just enhanced that. To top it off, he had ran into her once picking up Chinese food, and he said "Hey James Gandolfini's here," when he looked at someone else waiting by the counter, and she corrected him, laughing, by saying "No, that's my dad." But they had never, ever done anything remotely inappropriate. He had nearly ten years on her, to start with. Then there was the fact that she had seemed to have more self respect than everyone else in the building. Yes, she had a baby in high school, and that meant she defied Lindsey's stereotypical view of teen mothers. He never heard of her going out after work with other girls to party. No talk of dates. She had never entered the building wearing anything remotely revealing. Of course, her daughter was the total opposite of most of the bratty kids that would sometimes come around with their parents. All of her stories involved being at home, with her family. Sure she worked at Wolfram and Hart but her only intention was to provide a good life for her daughter without relying on her parents too much. If that meant scheduling a ritual sacrifice now and then, then so be it. It paid the bills and then some. He understood her and also assumed she'd never do something that could jeopardize her job. Of course, perhaps the biggest factor of all was the little girl in the equation. He knew that girl was her life, far more important than her job, and there was absolutely no chance she would be in a relationship with someone that wasn't right for her daughter. Being Co-Vice President of Special Projects, did not make his life child friendly beyond occasional interaction.

"I knew it!" he heard her exclaim in the hallway. Her daughter was back, sitting on her desk chair as Sam re-entered his office with her cell phone, and also some files. "I forgot to give you these cases to look at." Lindsey had asked her to find her a relatively "normal" case, because every now and then he needed a break from defending LA scum.

"What are they?" he asked.

"One is a tanning company, they're being sued by some girls that claim the guidelines only advised the limits of fake tanning for safety reasons, and didn't warn against natural tanning and fake tanning in one day, and they should have, so therefore they're responsible for their skin cancer…"

"Your favorite disease," he reminded her. "And really? That's a case? Ridiculous. What else?"

"Well, Britney Spears-"

"NO!" he exclaimed. "In fact tell me when she will be in the building so I know not to be here."

Sam sighed and put the files on his desk. "Well, there's a bunch here, take your pick. I'm gonna go, we're gonna see a movie. Nothing is going on here, why don't you go home?"

Lindsey shrugged. /_What's there?_/ he said to himself. "Maybe I'll leave early. Have fun," he said to her, trying not to sound pathetic regarding the fact that he barely had a life outside of work these days. Recently he had been in contact for the first time in five years with his youngest sibling that he had only seen once since she was put into foster care and adopted when she was very young. But they still haven't seen each other. "Bye Teresa," he yelled at the door.

"Bye!" she waved back.

Once again he was alone in his office. Leaning back in his chair he continued to watch the game on the television that costs far more than the monthly mortgage his father couldn't afford to pay. His goal in life was to never be in that position. There was a time, back in college, where he thought as he approached thirty he would have a family as well. A family that would be able to depend on him; that wouldn't get torn apart. The older he got, the more he realized he would just have the luxurious, yet dangerous, lifestyle. Usually it didn't bother him, after all sacrifices had been a part of Lindsey's life long before it was a feature on his desk phone.

_/What the hell, I might as well go home./_

It didn't take longer than twenty minutes to get to his apartment building. He parked his BMW-the work car- in his other designated space, next to his truck, when he walked in the building he held the door open for a woman, not much older than himself, the doorman seemed to be elsewhere, he went straight into the elevator. So did the woman. He got off on the eighth floor and went to the apartment at the end of the hallway. So did the woman. Before putting his key in the door, he turned around. "Can I help you?"

The woman, professionally dressed on a hot California day, looked down at the file she was holding. "Are you Lindsey McDonald?" He nodded. "Good timing. My name's Brenda Kramer," she extended her hand, "with social services." Lindsey shook it hesitantly. The last part took him back to his childhood. He suspected it still had to do with his family, which was not good.

/_Why couldn't she be with some cult?_/

Lindsey opened the door and let her in. "So what is the visit about?" /_My mother's got to be too old to have a kid… hopefully…_/ "Did one of my siblings…"

"This is about you," Brenda cut him off. "Can we sit down?" He lead her over to his living room, sitting down on the sofa and letting her have the big club chair that he always preferred.

"I can't imagine why you're here. Is this about a case I have, because I'm sorry…"

"No," she cut him off again. "Do you remember a woman named Kristina Young?"

Upon hearing the name Lindsey pressed himself into the back of the sofa and nodded, trying not to cringe. How could he forget Kristina? They had dated several years ago, when he was just starting his career. She was from Beverly Hills, her dad was a big shot at (another) law firm, her mom did something in hospital administration, and she spent their money. She also happened to be the most annoying person he had ever come into contact with, and that was saying a lot. He stuck it out with her for a while incase Wolfram and Hart didn't work out, figuring her dad would be a good connection, but after a few months he couldn't take her anymore. Or her equally annoying Maltese, Candy. Every now and then he had seen her in the paper, especially recently, in the socialite/gossip section; trying to be like her friend Paris Hilton. "Yeah, I can't forget her," he eventually said. "How do Kristina and I have anything to do with your line of work? I haven't seen her in years."

Brenda fiddled with the file she was holding. "She came to into the social services office and left something-someone," Brenda paused to give Lindsey a moment to take it in. He stared at her wide-eyed and she continued. "She says you're the father of her daughter, and she just can't care for her anymore. I tried to talk her out of her decision, but-"

"No," Lindsey finally spoke. "I don't have a kid." /_I can't have a kid_/ "Like I said, we haven't seen each other in years!"

"Yes, well the girl is four-years-old."

/_Shit!/ _"That doesn't automatically mean this girl is mine. I mean Kristina…"

"Well we will do a DNA test of course, if you're willing."

"Yeah, I want to get this straightened out. Can I ask what this girl's name is?" Lindsey didn't think the situation could get any more shocking. He was wrong.

"Angelica," Brenda said. She glanced down at the paper, "Angelica Lilah Young, to be exact."

/_Thank God this a joke!_/ Lindsey slammed his formerly non-existent, formerly evil, hand on the coffee table. "Okay who put you up to this? Lilah, it's gotta be Lilah, right? Whatever she's paying you I'll double it to—"

"Mr. McDonald," she said seriously, "I assure you this is real." The look on face just couldn't be disputed. "Would you like to take the DNA test now? We can have the results in a few days."

"We can have the results today, and I want to get this out of my way right away."

"No, labs usually take-"

Lindsey pulled out a wad of cash from his six-hundred-dollar pants "Cash is taken everywhere."

"Let's get started then."

At 4pm Lindsey was sitting in Brenda's office waiting for the results to be faxed back. /_This kid can't be mine. God awful name aside, no way. Damn me for pressing that ritual sacrifice button in front of Sam._/

Brenda entered her office with a piece of paper. "Results are back, and they're positive. You're her father." Lindsey was speechless. "You know, you do have options here…"

_/Well, my sister got lucky in the sys-NO, that am I saying? I've gotten away with a lot at Evil's Headquarters so far, maybe, just maybe I can make this work. Besides, that would make me no better than Kristina. Far worse than my mom… This girl is probably so scared…_/

"No, no," he finally said. "I'll take her."

"I can see if there is a judge available to sign off on this today, but its Friday… or would you prefer doing this on Monday? It might give you time to get prepared."

"What do you think? Would-would I be making it harder on her waiting?"

"I suggest you give yourself time to take this in, make the any necessary accommodations. Being completely unprepared could be even worse. I assure you, she is being taken care of very well right now."

Lindsey nodded, still in a state of shock. "Okay then. Yeah, I should… prepare."

/_Holy Shit._/

TBC

Thank you for reading. Reviews are really appreciated so I knew whether or not to continue.


	2. Chapter Two

Reminder: Everything in between /_these_/ are Lindsey's thoughts.

A/N: I hadn't intended on making this chapter so long. It just kept flowing, I hope there aren't too many OC's for everyone's liking (Angel and crew will be in the story eventually.)

Lindsey left the Social Services office and immediately entered an address into the GPS on his BMW. He felt as if he was on autopilot, focused on getting to his destination without really considering much else. He really hadn't even taken in where he was going, but he knew it was the only place he could go.

It wasn't long until the GPS informed him he had reached his destination. He took a minute before parking the car to look at where he was. An LA suburb, on a nice tree lined street with all of the houses well maintained, but none had the modern look at lot of upper middle class homes were changing over too. The one he was parked in front of specifically; was a moderately sized brick colonial, with a stone decorated doorway and bright flower's along the stone pathway to the porch steps. He was pretty sure a house like that didn't even exist within a 3-5 mile radius of any of the places he lived in, depending on where they were at the time, back in Oklahoma. He parked the car in front of the house and looked over the right side of the house. No side doorway. He went over to the left, where he saw a staircase behind the gate to the yard that had a doorway at the bottom. That had to be what he was looking for. He walked down the steps and began to knock the door frantically. "Who the-oh, Hi! Calm down, you'll make your hand fall off and you just got it back!" Sam scolded as she let him in her basement apartment. "What's wrong?" She knew it must have been something big, not because of the knock, but because she had invited him over many times for dinners, BBQ's, and he'd always say 'maybe', but had never come. "Don't tell me your hand has a mind of its own again?"

"No…"

"I'll quit if Darla's…"

"NO! My personal life has apparently existed without me knowing it," he replied as he looked around her place. For a moment, his mind wasn't on his new found father-status. "That's a **giant **purple couch!" he exclaimed, staring at the big sofa that was deep purple, with a swirl pattern sewn on the back with a slightly darker purple. He was sure the aqua walls made it stand out even more.

"It's also the most comfortable thing your ass will ever meet. So sit on it and explain what's brought you to my dungeon of color."

Lindsey sat on the couch. /_Damn this is comfortable_./ "So, a social worker came to my apartment today, to tell me that I have a daughter!" he blurted out.

Sam was stunned. "W-w-w-hat?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much where I am too. One of my old girlfriends, apparently, had my kid and didn't tell me until she dumped her at some state office," as he told the story, his tone went from shock to anger, with his southern accent getting stronger as he went on.

"Are you sure this isn't a scam?" she asked cautiously.

"Believe me, that was my first thought. But it's legit. Actually, from what I've been told the little girl is Teresa's age."

"What kind of bottom feeder would just ditch their little girl after years of depriving her of having a good father?" she yelled, her maternal rage in full force, and her New York accent was as clear as day. "Where I'm from, this night would be ending by the East River. It's got to become more accessible to the West Coast…"

/_Good father… we'll see_/ "Kristina Young, that's who," he seethed.

Sam leaned under her coffee table and pulled out a copy of US Weekly, and flipped around until she found what she was looking for. "Not _this_ Kristina Young?" She showed him a photograph taken a week ago at a nightclub involving various socialites and reality "stars" dancing on a table with bottles of champagne.

"That's her." Lindsey grabbed the magazine and threw it against a wall.

"Did that help?"

"For a minute. I need your help, that's why I'm here." He sat back down. "I have no idea what I'm doing here."

"Well, no one knows what to do right away, and this just popped up on you…"

"Should she even be coming home with me on Monday?"

Sam moved closer to him and shifted back to being angry. "Lindsey, you can't give this kid up. God knows what this has done to her, where she'll go…."

"I know that," he cut her off. "If it weren't for a certain job of mine, I wouldn't have even questioned it for the few seconds I have."

"Fuck them," she threw her hands in the air. "You have before. Everyone knows you're the so-called "golden boy", the fact that you're still sitting here after the things you've done proves you, somehow, can get want you want out of that place."

"Yeah, and you think I can keep it up forever?"

"Well, I've yet to see you lose. I get the feeling a pep talk wasn't exactly the kind of help you meant before."

"No, my mind is made up. But thank you for it anyway. I guess I should get my life kid-friendly sooo…"

"Let's go spend your money! But if you need another pep talk, just say the words," she looked around the room, "I think I have poms-poms around here somewhere…"

/_Don't go there, Linds-_/

"We'll go right after dinner," she decided, interrupting his thoughts.

"Dinner?"

Just then they heard a door open above them, "Potato! Dinner! Now!" a man bellowed down.

"Potato?" Lindsey raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up, and come up."

"Oh I don't…"

She stomped her foot. "Come on. How many times have I invited you here? You're not intruding, come join the madness or no shopping."

Lindsey was sold. They headed up the staircase into a kitchen. Lindsey was kind of surprised by the kitchen. His apartment had higher end countertops and appliances, but it was big, decorated with hanging ceramic pieces of fruits and vegetables, three black ovens, and every countertop cooking appliance out there, that all seemed well used. But what he noticed first, was the smell as soon as the door had opened; the smell of homemade food. "Hey!" a familiar voice squealed, from her perch on a counter, licking batter off the Kitchen Aid Mixer.

A red haired women turned around from facing her stove to see who her granddaughter was so excited about. "Oh, hello! Samantha, I didn't know you were having company, I would have made something better!"

"Mom, it's fine. There's a work issue that needs to be handled, I didn't plan on it either. This is my boss, Lindsey McDonald," she explained. "I apologize in advance for this," she then whispered to Lindsey as her mother dropped her spoon and made a b-line for him, embracing him in a tight one sided hug. It was awkward, but he couldn't find a reason to complain about it, either. "Mom, I want to still have a job on Monday. "

The woman backed off. "Sorry. It's just I've been really looking forward to one day meeting the nice boy that gave my Samantha such a good job, so soon out of training. She always talks about you."

/_Nice boy… yeah…wait, she talks about me?_/

"Well Sam can't through an hour without mentioning any of you, I feel like I know you all, Mrs. DeSantis" he told her with his best manners on display.

"Oh please, call me Viki."

"He won't," Sam her told her mom.

"I'm-I'm sorry I wasn't expecting to be here, I didn't bring anything… is there something I can help with?" he asked.

"Absolutely not. Have a seat in at the table and make yourself comfortable. Sam, get out some drinks and the good plates."

"Mom, he doesn't need the good plates," she rolled her eyes. "I'm shocked you don't want us in the dining room, too."

"Well, my sewing machine is on it because someone didn't tell me company was coming. Now don't make a scene and do as I asked. One of you two," she pointed to her daughter and granddaughter, "go outside and claw you-know-who back in here and away from his damn vegetables." Viki paused, "Excuse my language."

"Don't worry about it," Lindsey assured her, taking a seat at their large, round, kitchen table that was on the other side of their breakfast counter. "Are you sure I can't get anything out?"

"I'm positive. Excuse me one minute," Viki exited the kitchen and went up the staircase. Teresa jumped off her counter and ran in the yard.

"You're mom's nice," Lindsey commented as he got up and went over to where Sam was removing plates. "I'll take them."

"She'll beat me if she see's me letting you," Sam countered, handing him the plates. Then, she got out glasses and brought them to the table herself, followed by going over to the fridge. "What do you want to drink?"

"Take out Uncle Vito's wine," a deep voice called behind her opening the back door and holding tomato's in one hand, and a bowl of mixed grilled vegetables in the other, placing them both down by the sink.

"Daddy, we have to go out later…"

"So?"

"So, one glass of Uncle Vito's wine is like drinking half a bottle," she pointed out. "But it is very good," she turned to Lindsey and said.

"You drink?" Lindsey questioned, surprised. "You've never even sipped champagne during toasts…" The law firm didn't take drinking laws, much like murder charges, very seriously.

"That's what I like to hear," the older man interrupted.

"Mainly just wine, sometimes…"

"Not that I condone underage drinking, but when I was a kid you could legally drink at eighteen and the doctors used to actually recommend it as an appetite enhancer for kids. The word is so uptight these days. Plus, how can you enjoy a good meal without it..." her father added.

"Anyway," Sam continued, "honestly I just don't like the feeling of drinking too much. Which is why as much as I love Uncle Vito, I'll pass. You should too, you have to get up early tomorrow for Teresa's t-ball game."

"That's right," Paul DeSantis remembered. How could he have forgotten, he had begged the little girl to sign up in the first place. "I'll have a beer, how about you, Lindsey?"

"Why not, Mr. DeSantis." /_God knows I could use a drink. Maybe I should take that wine to go…_/

"Please, call me, Mr. Soprano," the man laughed, Sam joined him immediately. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

The back door opened once again and Teresa came running through with a giant mastiff-looking dog; that was taller than she was standing on his four legs. Right away the dog –carefully- pushed passed the little girl and went over to Lindsey, and took an attack stance, looking around at his family members. It took a lot to scare Lindsey at this point in his life, this thing was terrifying. "It's okay, Buck. He's good," Sam assured her dog, putting her hands around his neck in a hug in the midst of his intimidation. The dog calmed down and began to sniff the lawyer curiously.

"Buck, you're much nicer in your picture," he said to the dog, reaching out his hand to gently pet him. They were becoming fast friends.

"Do you have a doggie?" Teresa asked Lindsey, taking a seat at the table.

"No. I like dogs though. Big dogs, not those little ones."

"Why do you have one?"

He shrugged. "Too busy."

"There's no point in having a dog that can't protect your family," Paul added, handing Lindsey a beer.

"Oh no, here we go," another male voice said coming down the staircase behind Viki's return. There was another male behind him.

"What?" Paul asked. "It's the truth."

"Lindsey these are my brothers, Chris and Danny. Danny's the lucky guy that shared the womb with me."

"That's why I was born first, couldn't take her anymore," Danny pushed passed his sister and shook Lindsey's hand. "How ya doin'?"

"Good, nice to meet you both," Lindsey greeted. "So Danny, Sam's told me you're studying criminal justice?"

"Yeah, but I'm still not sure if Law School is what I want to pursue. I'm still considering something like detective work. For the police, not like in one of those lame wannabe agencies, full of people that would never make it on a force."

/_Good sense runs in the family./_ "Understandable," Lindsey said trying not to smirk. "Well if you ever need a recommendation…" /_Evil goes a long way…_/

"I'll write it up and forge your name," Sam finished. "Dear college, please take pity on this guy…"

"Not in front of company!" Paul demanded.

Victoria placed a platter of chicken cutlets, mashed potato's and fried eggplant on the table along with the grilled veggies and tomato's, went over to the refrigerator and removed macaroni salad, cheese, lettuce and mayonnaise. "There's hero bread for sandwiches or you can have it on a plate. Again, I apologize for such an informal dinner, I would have put on a pot of sauce…"

"Please," Lindsey cut her off. "This looks great." /_Maybe I should be taking notes on how a regular family acts…_ / "So what kind of dog is Buck, again, Sam?" he questioned as the dinner got underway.

"South African Boerboel. It took us forever to find one," she answered.

"But it was worth the wait," Paul added. "All those alarm systems and whatnot?" he waved a dismissive hand "all you need is a good dog and a gun to know your family will be safe."

Lindsey couldn't help but laugh. It was made funnier by the fact that everyone at the table -Teresa included- had appeared like they've heard that many times. "I grew up in the south, around a lot of people that would subscribe to that."

"Does your family still live there or have they moved out here?" Sam's mom asked curiously.

Sam never the subject of family was a touchy subject with her boss, though she didn't know all the details, so she decided to spare him "Dad, Lindsey's a Yankee fan," Sam stated before Lindsey could answer. It worked just as she thought it would. Baseball was the topic for the remainder of the dinner.

Once the table was cleared it was time to make their exit. "Okay. We have to leave, there's work that needs to be done," Sam said to her parents.

"You're not staying for dessert? I think your brother and the kids are coming by…" her mom replied.

"I have something really important to work on and Sam knows where everything is. Sorry to take her away…"

"Yeah and I'm sorry I'll miss a chance to see them without _her_ around." Lindsey was aware that she didn't like her sister-in-law, and he got the impression the rest of the family agreed.

"I hope they come. Cousin Cara and I need to have a talk..." Teresa added, looking at Lindsey. Sam rolled her eyes. Good thing they were leaving.

Finally, they took off to the stores.

TBC

Thank you for reading. Reviews are really appreciated. Up next shopping and Lindsey gets thrown a curve ball when he meet's his daughter. What will she be like? How will he deal with her name? You'll find out soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Author Note: Another long absence, I am really sorry, real-life got in the way. I really appreciate you readers and this is still a story I am committed too. Hopefully, a few long chapters will help make-up for it. Thank you to anyone who's still reading!

Reminder: Everything in between /_these_/ are Lindsey's thoughts.

The drive started off silent once Sam instructed him where to go. They still had a few hours before the stores closed, and they wanted to try and fit as much in as possible. "So, your family's nice," Lindsey eventually broke the silence. "Do you think she's nice?"

"Who?"

"My newly-discovered kid. I mean Kristina was so…"

"Bitchy?"

"More like bratty, actually. Her parents were decent enough but then again they raised her. Do you think she's some spoiled rich kid, too? What if we don't get along?" he asked her. "What if I don't like my own kid?" he fired off the questions with the intensity he usually reserves for the inside of a courtroom.

Sam let out a 'hmm' sound as she took in the questions, and eventually put up a hand in protest. "I don't know, under different circumstances I would say it's something to be concerned about, but, being ditched doesn't scream 'get's everything she wants', to me."

"Yeah, true," he agreed.

"Personally, I'm more interested in whether or not tantrums are a genetic trait. Boy you better hope not," the young woman lightened the tone of the conversation with a perky voice, and hitting her elbow into his.

"What's that suppose to mean?!"

"You're kidding, right?"

"I don't throw tantrums!" he exclaimed, like an irritated child.

"If you were Teresa you'd be _living_ in a corner," she countered. "People are still talking about what you did in the Boardroom…"

"I had an evil hand!" he yelled. "You get an evil hand and see how you react!" he muttered. " But anyway, as I was saying before, Kristina's parents were Okay and they created her. I have no doubt they've been living with them, she probably leaves her with them regularly..." /_Could I have put my foot any more in my mouth?_/ "Not that that's a bad thing to live with-," he quickly added.

Sam laughed. "That didn't offend me. After all, I'm only with them because a) I want too and b) even if I thought about moving out, just the two of us, my dad wouldn't hear of it. No way Well, maybe eventually they'd let me go… but they would watch the news for my face every night. They'd have heart attacks if they knew what I did for a living as is."

"Right, who would get the gun while the dogs attacking?"

"Usually he doesn't get that upfront with people he doesn't know very well, you must be special." Sam paused for a second, before turning in her seat to look at her boss, with a serious look on her face. "How the hell can someone just abandon their kid to a stranger? Where were her parents during this? I can't get my head wrapped around it."

"I know," Lindsey agreed. "People ditch their kids every day," that didn't surprise him –or Sam with her first-hand experience- in the least, "but yeah, she had _options_. Hell, how many people do we work with, with money, stick their kids with a nanny all the time or send them to boarding schools? If she's in magazines, she must still have her money."

"Uh-huh. She made the attempt to let you have her now so why not go to you directly? What if you didn't take her in? She just took a gamble with her daughter's life. She could have ended up making her go who knows where! At least-" she stopped herself mid rant and didn't continue.

"At least what?" Lindsey questioned.

"Nothing, forget it."

Since they were at a red light he took his eyes off the road completely to look at her. The young woman with the habit of cheering up his days was visibly upset, and he didn't think it was all on his behalf. "Samantha…"

She turned away from her boss and focused on the outside scenery. "At least when Teresa's father made it very clear he wanted nothing to do with her, he knew she was going to be a part of a good family…"

"Oh. So he was never around?" /_Stupid little_ _bastard._/

"I tried to change his mind once. After… after she was born I took her to his house," she paused and shook her head at the memory, "I even dressed her up really pretty, which was so much easier to do then than now," her expression softened for a moment "she always looks like a little doll when she's dressed up. I thought…I didn't know how he and family could not, not change their mind. They didn't open the door," she finally admitted. She didn't know why just admitted that. He was more than a boss to her, she did think of him as a friend, but she hadn't even told her best friend that. In fact the only people that did know… Suddenly a small smile crept on her face, "I never contacted him again. Pauly, Chris and Danny didn't do the same since he continued to go to the same school. I was told there was a trashcan-stuffing incident when Uncle Vito came to meet her…"

/_My kind of guys./ _ "Understandable," Lindsey said. "I would have done the same…." /_Depending on the sibling…_/ Now when you say Pauly, you mean your brother, not dad, right?"

"Obviously."

"So, he didn't get in on…"

"No, he didn't," her short, serious, answer lead him to believe there was something more to that, but he did not want to push her. "Uncle Vito had it covered, anyway," she added, sounding like her regular self.

"Okay, the next time this Uncle Vito is in town, I _really_ need to meet him," the lawyer replied with enthusiasm.

"Depending on how the kid turns out, maybe I'll have him bring you some carafes," she offered, trying to stay on the path of a lighter topic.

"I was going to say before we left your house maybe I should take some to go," he laughed.

Sam shrugged. "Well, it keeps him out of trouble…"

"Trouble?" Lindsey questioned, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah. But it's not like he's ever done anything bad enough he'd need _you_ as a lawyer," she said with a big smile and laugh.

/_She's so pretty when she's hap-HEY!_/ "Hey! Thanks a lot, that's just what I needed to hear tonight. You know, I would never speak to any of my boss' like that."

"I would never speak to any of your boss' like that either," she agreed. "Luckily my boss has a sense of humor. And a soul."

"Some would disagree…"

"The same argument could be said for me, technically. I willingly sit outside your office," Sam paused to sigh. "Don't argue back, we both know we'll go back-and-forth forever."

Lindsey accepted the change of topic suggestion. "It's been, about three years, since I've even watched a kid. That wasn't even a full night."

The only things Sam knew about Lindsey's family was that he had a nephew named Luke, who he had her buy/send Christmas and Birthday gifts too, as of a little more than two weeks ago he had a niece Emma, who she bought a teddy bear for, some toy for Luke upon her suggestion (wrapped and put into an unsealed postage box by her) as well as a New Baby Card so he could put a check with in it and that he would get mail on occasions from "Kelly and Amanda McDonald," Luke and Emma's parents. Not ever seeing each other on holidays, and his family not visiting when his hand got cut off, if they even knew it did, and Lindsey not having her arrange travel plans to see his new niece, still let her know it had to be a complicated relationship. After all, even complicated Uncle Vito made it to California before Sam was even finished with the labor of bringing Teresa into the world. "Was it Luke?" she guessed.

"Yeah. They came to LA when I settled into my first decent apartment here. Their wedding anniversary fell into the trip, so they went out on the town, and I watched him. He was two, hanging out with Fun Uncle Lins. Somehow, I doubt I can use that experience."

Sam pushed aside wanting to ask if he was "Fun Uncle Lins", then why doesn't he see them at least on holidays/important occasions. Something else caught her attention more. "Wedding anniversary? A real one?"

"Only grade-schoolers have fake ones," Lindsey countered, confused.

"Where were they allowed to do it?"

It made perfect, amusing, sense to Lindsey what Sam was implying. "Saaam… do you know that Kelly and Amanda are my _brother_ and sister-in-law?" The look of utter embarrassment was all the answer he needed. The lawyer then sighed. Time to fess (something) up: "In birth-order Jamie, Lindsey, Charlie but really Charlotte, Kelly, Jo but really Joanne, and Fred but really Winifred. Longer names were on the birth certificates, not used." He left out the part where he would often call his sisters by their full name, out of pettiness. Mentioning who died and who was taken away wasn't even up for consideration to be mentioned. Not then. In Charlotte's case, maybe not ever.

"Well… it's good your parents were prepared," Sam teased to hide her surprise he actually shared that information with him. But so many siblings and only knowing of contact with one gave her a whole new set of questions in her head.

/_They couldn't have been less prepared./ _ "Hang on! Where did you think Luke and Emma came from?"

Sam shrugged. "The scientific, non-Biblical way a woman can get pregnant without having sex… The first time I asked you who Kelly and Amanda were, you said your nephew's parents and showed me the picture they sent when you were getting your mail at the office. You said your sister-in-law was pregnant, which people do anyway to 'partners' of siblings, and I don't pry into those things. I've mentioned my friend Peter is gay, right? He hates when people have to 'confirm' certain things. Plus, they never write Mister and Misses on their mail."

"Yeah. They never really have, it's weird," Lindsey agreed, still amused. "A lesbian McDonald knocked-up with a test tube baby," Lindsey paused to laugh, "I'd find a way to resurrect Gram just to see her head explode, after her rampage."

Now it was Sam's turn to be amused. "Gram?"

"Hey!" Lindsey got defensive. "You leave a man and his Gram alone."

"I just always figured you to be the 'Grandmother', type."

"You know I don't like to be obvious."

The topic of Lindsey's family made Sam realize she hadn't asked him a very important question. "Hey! You haven't told me what your daughter's name is! Do you know?" she decided to ask. Lindsey stopped the car short mid-way down a street. "What the hel-"

"A-Angelica Lilah," he said with a wince. Sam looked like a kid who just came downstairs on Christmas morning.

"Really?" All he could do was nod.

Sam was _still_ laughing when they entered their first destination, a furniture store, which was a quick trip. They looked through the booklet, and despite Sam's attempts to talk Lindsey out of ordering a Full size, bed with a canopy, he insisted on getting all the upgrades.

Next they hit up Bloomingdales. "_Seriously?!_" Lindsey questioned with slight disgust, as he held up a little pair of pants that had "Juicy" on the backside.

"You think there's only one evil corporation in the world?," Sam told him with equal displeasure.

"That's just _wrong_," he muttered as he put it back. "Oh how about this?" Lindsey pointed out a silk nightgown.

"A four-year-old doesn't need luxury sleepwear," Sam countered.

"Yeah but it's nice. After all, I'm sure she's accustomed to nice things…"

"And you're going to keep up with the spoiled lifestyle? I thought you…"

"I don't know what I'm thinking, honestly."

"Fine, get three really expensive things, then we're sticking to the sale racks, which still has good stuff because this is Bloomingdales, not Payless."

"Okay. What size?"

"Four." Sam gave Lindsey a once-over look. "Or maybe some three's, just in case…"

"You're fired!"

"Then I'll leave." She won. As the two searched the section Sam found herself wondering near infant clothes. Soon after Lindsey noticed.

"Okay, that's just taking height jokes too far."

Sam frowned. "You missed so much."

The principle of Kristina keeping his kid away from him angered Lindsey, really angered him. However, the emotional side, 'missing' what Sam was referencing, was not something he had really thought about. When she brought it up it still didn't have an impact on him besides the fact that he did have the choice and he did not want Sam to know that.

Sam was able keep Lindsey's spending moderately under control as they continued to shop for clothes, then bedding and bathroom supplies. However, when they went to the toy store there was no reasoning with him. Granted, he hadn't intended on getting a whole lot, after all he needed help in the first place. Yet he managed to walk out with two cartfuls of toys, stuffed animals, books, movies, dolls, coloring material, tea sets and a little play table. There was a dispute over certain books, made by the possibly evil corporation Disney, as Lindsey insisted many "give children unrealistic expectations of life always working out and teaches girls they need to just get married to be complete. It could be an attempt at mind control." Sam put them in the shopping cart when he wasn't looking. Despite Sam's protest, when they saw a giant stuffed dog that looked a lot like Buck (and was also $60), he insisted on getting it for her to give to Teresa, to show his appreciation for going with him when she has a family could have been with. He also mentioned it would look hilarious on the giant purple couch.

The rest of the weekend flew by. Between getting the office stuff out of his spare room and having the furniture delivered, some things needing to be assembled, and of course putting all the stuff away, Monday came before he could do everything he'd wanted to do. Oh well, he would find time for it soon enough.

/_Well, today's the big day… _/

A/N: Comments and even suggestions in reviews are appreciated and really considered if they can be worked in.


	4. Chapter 4

A/Ns: Everything in / are Lindsey's thoughts.

For once Lindsey did not have to go to court in full business attire. He did debate wearing a tie, but eventually decided against it. All he was doing was signing papers, slacks and a dress shirt would do just fine. After all, it was a hot day and he thought the more casual look would make him seem more approachable with the little one he'd be meeting.

Despite being under the impression he would be first that morning, he got there at nine, but ended up having to wait until ten-thirty. The process was quick though, his signature, Brenda's, and a judge. Once that was covered there was only one thing left to do.

"Do you want to me her in the chambers or should I have someone bring her out here?" Brenda asked him as they still in the court hallway.

"What do you think? What usually happens?"

"I think it's better behind closed doors."

Lindsey was not used to not knowing what to. Being quick on his feet was how he made it up the Wolfram and Hart latter in record time. "Then what? I mean I'm a stranger to her. Do I go in there and give her a hug like we're old friends or will that be uncomfortable for her? An introduction might seem cold, no?"

Brenda put a hand on his shoulder. "I always tell parents, guardians to go with your instinct in the moment." Taking her hand off his shoulder, she held up a manila envelope that was in her other hand. "Kristina did pack some kind of bag—"

"Oh how thoughtful," Lindsey cut off dryly.

"This envelope has her medications in side, I thought I should give them to you personally."

/_What?_/ "Medications? For what? Asthma?" he questioned, having read recently it was on the rise more than ever with kids. Just when he thought there was nothing more he would blindsided with, he was proven wrong. Brenda Kramer looked—and felt—absolutely mortified. Lindsey was starting to get nervous. "What? What is it?" he asked.

"I-I didn't tell you? How could I have not told you…I must have…." She began to pace.

"You didn't tell me anything, so tell me now!" he demanded, getting angry.

"I've had so many cases lately…more than I should…"

"All I want to hear about is my daughter, not your job that you're inept at." Incompetence was one o f the things he had absolutely no tolerance for.

"Well, Kristina didn't say, but in my experience I'd say it's, or related too, the birth defect c-"

"You're telling me my kid's brain damaged or something?! You're telling me **now**!" he interrupted to yell at her. /_Defect?! Is that term even still used?/_

"Well, actu-" Before she could finish Lindsey snatched the bag of medicine out of her and, told her to go back to her other cases before she botches them, while she still has her job and stormed of in the direction of the chamber she was in. The usually aware-of-his-surroundings-Lawyer had far too much on his mind to even realize Brenda followed behind.

/_I'm not even sure yet if I have time for a kid in general, let alone one that needs extra time. I graduated top of my class how cou-Christ, what is __**wrong**__ with __**me**__?!. If she can, she's going to hate me. What if she thinks that's why I haven't been around?_/

When he approached the door he took a breath to get over his anger. He opened the door quietly and he ended up staring at who he was looking at, for yet another reason he didn't see coming. He vaguely took notice of her physical features he could see, which by his distance was tiny red glasses in front of Kristina's brown eyes, dirty blonde hair; could have come from either side. _Curly_ hair, he knew where that came from. But it was the general look of her face; it was a look of being past the point of being sad, it represented resignation, resignation of being a rejected, as if it was something she deserved. A look only a mother could cause. One he had firsthand experience with all-too-well. He wasn't sure if she could see him, so he stopped staring quickly. After all, he didn't know if she could see him from the room layout and he didn't want her to think it was the slightly tilted-back wheelchair that had his attention. Though it was the second thing he noticed. Looking at such a young child, strapped into a chair, both around the waist and each foot was to foot rests (there was an unused car-seat style belt, too), he couldn't help but see her as possibly completely helpless. Helpless, and abandoned: to be placed in a big-city-system if he hadn't agreed to take her. There wasn't a doubt in his mind he was going make Kristina pay. Big time. /_"Not even I would ever consider doing this. I know demons that look out for their spawn's safety better than this!"_/ After taking another step and motioning the clerk who had been watching her to leave, Lindsey took a small breath, put on his best 'everything's fine' smile he was so good at faking and headed over to meet his kid. He then took a chair, placed it in front of her, so they were eye level and introduced himself, "Hi, A-" he just couldn't call his daughter that name, "Heya, Sweetheart," he amended /_Too soon for pet names?_/ "I'm your… father…dad, daddy…pops" he continued awkwardly, "I am really sorry it took this long to meet, but you're going to be coming home with me." /_Is she understand-/_

"Yea," the little girl answered with a slight nod, unknowingly cutting off her father's pondering. Lindsey felt a bit of relief. Her voice didn't sound like a normal four-year-olds, it was like a younger kid just learning to talk, but, with more effort and slower. At least he could understand her.

"Oh, you were told already?" He was answered with a nod. "That's good."

"Mom,… s-ay" she then replied, pausing between words, and breaking some up. Once again though, Lindsey heard her perfectly fine.

/_Okay, this is bumpy but moving along._/ Ever the lawyer he could not hold back asking his follow up question. "Your mother told you? Did she say anything else to you about me, or what happened?" he asked gently, but making an effort not to seem too gentle; he did not want to appear he was talking down to her, like some people had done to him while he was sporting a plastic hand, or to Darla when she was still adjusting to her resurrection.

There was a pause. Then sounds were made that Lindsey did not understand. But she tried again without being asked. This time he heard "u… un…u..t..un…"

"My turn?" Lindsey guessed. She nodded. "My turn?! He repeated angrily, causing the little girl to jump, "so she's just-"

That was when Brenda made her appearance known in the doorway before he could go on further. "Excuse us for a second honey, Mr. McDonald can we—" Lindsey wasted no time going into the hallway.

"Did she just say what I think she said?!" Lindsey demanded to know.

"I had no idea about that," Brenda confessed. "Kristina said that to me when I took her aside to try and talk her out of what she was doing. We were kind of far away… I don't know if she heard it then, or if Kristina had said it to her before. But you yelling about it in front of her is not going to help you two connect. At all. That's the last thing she needs."

/_And here I was concerned she wasn't about to understand enough. I should be concerned about her knowing too much._ _"Defect", my ass, Brenda!_/ "Were there any more parting shots?" he questioned, still unbelievably angry. /_Why the hell did she keep her this long to begin with? And 'turn'? Does she think I'll ever allow her to make a decision about my life again?! Will her parents care enough that she'll have to justify this to them?_/ Samantha had called an former school-mate who worked as a secretary at Eschman Group, the firm Henry Young, worked for and found out he and his wife, Kristina's parents were in the midst of a South-Pacific cruise. It was quite possible they did not know what Kristina had done.

"Look, I am in no way defending her but sometimes it just takes such an emotion toll on certain people caring-" Brenda tried to say.

"Oh, I'm sure she had a staff do the caring," he cut her off. "Which is why I don't want to hear excuses, it's all a load of crap. Now, excuse me, I have to undo four years of living with _that_." With that, Lindsey went back in the room, shifting back into a calm mode. At least he was a quick thinker. "I am so sorry I yelled, Kiddo. I did not mean to. I didn't yell because of you, not at all." After a moment of hesitation, Lindsey took both of her tiny hands into one of his, and made sure he was looking her in the eyes. "Look, I… do you know what lying and telling the truth are?" She did. "Honestly, this is the truth what I'm telling you right now. _You _did _nothing _wrong at all. Not right now, not when you were with your mom. When I said I was sorry before? That was the truth, too. I… I didn't know you were born. If I had, we wouldn't be here right now, we would know each other and we would have been spendin' a lot of time together." /"A lot?" _So much for telling the truth. Well, maybe it would have happened…_/ Lindsey moved his hand up to her cheek and lightly held it, even though his new daughter was uncomfortable with it. "Your mom never gave us a chance to know each other until now. But I'm going to make it up to you.

She didn't reply nor could he tell by the look on her face if she believed it or not. He figured the best thing to do was to let it go, for now. He had something else to get to. "So, I've been doing some thinking all weekend… you're initials, the first letter of each of your full names, spell Aly. I like that name. Would it be okay if I called you Aly? If not just say so, I won't be mad." /_I'm petty_/

"K-ay," she replied, sounding almost happy about it.

"Thank you. I like your glasses. Is red your favorite color?" She nodded. Liking her glasses wasn't just words of kindness. They were different. At least he thought they were different than what most girls would pick, in color and the frame thickness. Perhaps she wasn't another fashion-slave in the making, like her mother. "Is that because of your buddy, there?" Lindsey then asked, finally acknowledging the Elmo doll on her lap. She nodded again. "Elmo, right? See I'm not that old." His attempt at a joke failed. "But I don't really know him well. You'll introduce me… to his.. work." The vigorous nod was what lead Lindsey to notice the bag on the back of chair was an Elmo bag, /_Note to self: Elmo, very good. Better than Barbie or some 'Princess', we might just get along easier than I thought._/

"I have one more favor to ask of you okay? You know, you've been a kid for a long time. This is my first day being a parent, so if there's anything not I'm doing that you need, it's my fault, and I'll figure it out. I bet though you'll be patient and teach me a few things." He received hesitation eventually followed by an 'uh-hu' sound. "Now how about we get out of here?" The newly-named Aly once again, nodded.

As left the courthouse, Lindsey couldn't help but think about his upbringing with his siblings especially Charlotte, compared to Aly. His father could not even afford to get her cough medicine over the counter, a doctor's appointment and antibiotics were never considered an option. But his almost half-a-million dollar salary that goes along with his VP title, was going to allow him to give Aly the best doctors, treatments, she could possibly need. The idea of hiring a personal nurse was already floating in his head. /_Finally, that place is good for something…_/

When they reached his car he eyed up his trunk. It wasn't super small, but it wasn't big, either. Would the chair fit? His truck didn't have a back seat so that was out of the question for future use. /_"Am I going to need a new _car_?"_/ When he picked up Aly the first thing he did was hold her still, close to his chest. He wanted to test out of there was any truth to cliché of falling in love with your child the first time you hold him/her, as he was sure it was true for Sam. It wasn't true for him. As he looked down at the little girl who he figured was just as emotionally fragile as she might be physically, he did _want_ to help her beyond the scope of parental obligation. Sometimes he had wondered if Charlotte had more to fight for, if she didn't feel like a burden to their dad as she was dying, if their mom paid more attention, maybe –just maybe- her fate would have been different. He would not watch his daughter go through what he couldn't prevent his sister from going through. The physical things that caught his attention while holding her was how stiff her legs and her left arm seemed to be. The other thing he noticed was a scar on her right leg. There was going to be research done as soon and he could. He put her in the car, and to his luck, the chair fit in the trunk perfectly. The car ride was a silent one. Lindsey didn't want to force her into talking if she wasn't up to it, so instead he fiddled nervously with the radio. All of his set stations were in commercials, of course, so he was in scan mode. Suddenly "Oooops… I Didn't It Again," came out of his speakers. He saw Aly immediately appeared to be pleased by the song from the back seat before he could change the station.

/_DAMMIT!_/

TBC

A/N: I hope the new revelation has generated interest. Like I said, this was an idea that wouldn't leave my head. Please review to let me know! Thank you!. Actual characters will appear soon, I promise this is isn't going to be Lindsey and all OCs.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I wasn't sure where to cut this chapter off, so there's a lot going on in terms of learning about both Aly and Lindsey (in his childhood.) I hope you enjoy it!

Aside from the three minutes of audio torture for Lindsey, the trip home one of awkward silence. Luckily they didn't have a far ride to go. Even more luckily, Lindsey found a space around out front of the building. "Well, here we are," he announced when they were both out of the car and facing the building.

As they approached the apartment door from the elevator, he saw Welcome Balloons tied to the doorknob and a gift bag with flowers sticking out of it. He wasn't the only one who took notice.

"'Lo-ons!" Aly said, by far the happiest she had been all day. She tried to tilt her head back enough to see Lindsey. "Me?" she asked, meekly.

_/I should have thought of that. What would I do without Sam?/ _"Of course there for you. Who else would I get them for? Look, there's a gift from my friend, too," Lindsay picked up the gift bag. _/It's not the worst thing I'll be going to hell for…" "_So you like balloons, huh?" he questioned as they entered the apartment.

Aly nodded then moved her head in different directions to look around her new home. Everything was put-away, clean, organized and not very colorful. Just like her grandfather's office and the rooms in her grandparent's house that were "for show", which she never understood the point of having them so sometimes people would take a quick look. Plus, if she had it her way, all rooms would be red, or orange, and maybe some purple, so they wouldn't all be the same.

Lindsey noticed her looking around and made a different assumption as to why. "This is smaller than what you're used to, I'm sure…" he said looking around the room himself, feeling like the place was somewhat inadequate. He thought those days were long behind him. By the time he was in high school his family was renting a basement apartment, of a multi-family house, by far the nicest place they had lived in in a long while, though that didn't say much, not nearly as nice as Sam's placed looked. He was embarrassed to bring girls and friends over, since they used their basements for parties and such. He then decided to explain the living arrangements, and the probable other differences. "I did live here by myself but now it's just me and you," he answered, ending it with a pat on her shoulder. /_Before that I lived with a vampire_/

"Yea?" she said as if it was a whole new concept. To her it was.

Lindsey sighed. "I cook, basically everything your family has people do, I do. Except on Saturday's when a cleaning lady does come."

Aly looked away from him, shyly, "I…no…"

"You're not missing out on cleaning. I bet I can teach you how to cook," he offered, trying to save her from going on. It was obvious she disagreed. "I have to figure out how to do different things at work all the time, we'll just get creative, you'll be my little assistant in no time." /_Great, start making promises you might not be able to follow through on, or maybe won't have time too. That's going to make her feel good._/ Upon seeing how surprised Aly looked by the gesture, as if nobody in her family had ever considered she could somehow at least try something like that, he decided to change the subject before he started asking questions that would anger him again. "Is it too cold for you in here? I always have the AC on high…"

"No." A thumb-up went along with the answer.

"We're good roommates already. So do you want to see your room?" She did. Lindsey put the gifts from Sam on the coffee table and then showed her to her new bedroom.

He didn't think there was enough time to repaint without leaving the room smelling so the original tope walls were left, though Sam insisted on getting pictures of ballerina's and other girl-y pictures. It was quite the girls' bedroom for a two day job. The large canopy bed was right when you open the door, a closet behind the door, toy boxes, toys on shelves he put together, book shelves he put together himself, and a dresser/armoire, a reclining chair and a small TV on a stand made up the rest of the room. He and Sam tried their best to make as many items as possible kid reachable, but now he was thinking how she was going to get around the room, if she could. He walked around to stand in front of her. Once there he began running a strand of her curls around his index finger. "Well, how about I get you out of that thing now, huh?" She liked that idea. Shoes were the first to come off. He bent down in front of her undid the straps, and began to untie her right shoe, when suddenly it made a connection with his chin, and Aly's knee banged into her table.

What followed Lindsey would never forget. The only words to describe Aly's reaction, was a state of absolute panic. She immediately said she was sorry, several times. Lindsey also was pretty sure she also tried to say something about not meaning it, and possibly heard "bad" in the mix, but the more worked up she got, the harder it was for him to understand what she was saying. Forgetting the shoes, he picked her up as fast as he could in an attempt to calm her. He told her "it's okay," almost as many times as she tried to apologize. It had dawned on him that he wasn't actually aware of what had really just happened, but he knew he had to slowly build up to getting that information. As he tried to hush the crying girl in his arms, he could not help but think of his father. One attribute that not even Lindsey could take away from him, despite his faults, was that he was a good caregiver, emotionally, when it came to sick or injured kids. He was more physically affectionate with the girls, because boys had to be little men, but he also had a knack for getting the boys mind off what was ailing or hurting them and focus on sports talk and such. There was no doubt in his mind his father would have settled her already. Lindsey stopped using the hand he was using to stroke her back and hair, as he held her in the other arm, and used it to turn her head up to look at him. "Don't I keep saying to calm down? It's okay," he insisted, resolving to try to reason the situation out with her instead of just hushing it away.

The little girl started to sniffle and open her mouth, but was cut off before she could say anything.

"No. No buts, or anything. Did you mean to do that?" he asked, she immediately shook her head no. "So you have nothing to be sorry for. I am certainly not mad at you for doing something you did not mean to do," he went on to explain. /_Honestly, I wouldn't blame you either if you had._/ He leaned over to the night stand, still holding her, to get some tissues to wipe her face from all the crying she just did. "Will you tell me if that's happened before?" he asked as he wiped her face. She nodded. "Oh," he frowned. Once he put the tissue down he moved that hand down to her capri pants that went a little past her knee, "can I look?" He was given permission. Upon seeing a bruise clearly forming, and noticing what looked a few older ones, some in that area, a few to the outter side of the knee/leg, he once again repeated "Oh," but this time it was with a lot more sympathy, and guilt. Had it been one of his sisters, or possibly even himself or his brothers given the specific circumstance, Lindsey thought about how his dad would be kissing them. But he did not feel like was appropriate to do given they just met. The resentment towards Kristina and feeling like he was failing her, were the things stopping him from outright feeling sorry for her, perhaps even saying something of the sort, which he had a feeling she wouldn't like. Trying his best to not be awkward, he decided to gently go over said marks on her leg with three finger tips. "You're a tough cookie, aren't ya?" he commented, with his accent unintentionally stronger than usual. "That's what my Gram, ah, Grandma would say," he then added. /_Though I'm sure Gram's busy cursing me from her grave for having a child out of wedlock…_/ Aly didn't know what a 'tough cookie' meant, but she did know that cookies were awesome, so it must be a good thing by association. Her pleased look encouraged Lindsey to go on. "Uh-huh, that's what she'd say about you; 'that girl, Lindsey, is…"

The four-year-old became confused. "Huh?" she interrupted.

"What?"

"Ho?"

Lindsey was equally confused for a moment. "Who's my grandmother?"

"No."

Sure, Lindsey was an educated man, but it had been decades since he was four, so child logic was something he was going to have to put work into relearning. "Oh. Lindsey. Me."

"Oh," she chirped. "No… da-d?"

The smile he gave the little girl on lap was slight, but for the first time all day, it was completely unplanned and genuine. /_Hah. Kids_./ "Yes. I'm your dad. But Lindsey is the name my parents gave me."

"Ah." The look she gave him clearly indicated if she could have asked him 'why didn't you just say that sooner,' she would have.

With the conversation having gone off track, and Aly no longer having a meltdown, one of the shelves of toys on one of the other walls caught Lindsey's attention, since it had fallen onto the floor. "Hey," he commented, as he headed over to the area, with Aly –and Elmo- on his hip. "That was all in place before. Can it be I'm not as handy as I think I am?" Lindsey had not expected Aly to answer, or have an opinion, really. He was completely unaware by pointing out the broken item had ignited a silent panic in his child. Aly gave him a one-arm shrug as she silently hoped, pleaded with herself, that it really was an accident he made. If not, that could mean it was her fault, and maybe that could lead to him finding out what can happen around her, her mother did when bad/strange things would happen only around her, causing her mom to always say it must be her. If one parent figured that out, Aly's new parent maybe would too, even though her new parent seemed to already like her more than her mother ever did. But still, if he knew, he might not want her in his house anymore, and if he gave her up, where would she go? It was a lot for such a small child to have on her mind. "Are you okay?" Lindsey unknowingly interrupted her worrying to ask, when he noticed she looked in some kind of distress. The little girl gave him a small smile. Saying she was Okay would have been a lie, Aly did not lie. Lying was wrong. But just not saying anything wasn't a lie, she figured. Lindsey chalked it up to stress from the whole situation and decided to occupy her mind again, since that seemed to be the only way to get her to look less than miserable. "Are you hungry?" She wasn't. "You want a drink?" She did. "Well then, let's go get you one!," the new father was back into his trying-to-be-cheerful tone.

Samantha's short-jokes over the weekend lead to Lindsey buying a booster seat for his table, just in case. When they reached the table, he had her in it half way before he stopped himself when he realized he hadn't even seen if she needed it. Plus, he felt bad about having taken her out of one confining chair just to place her in another. "Oops. Can you sit on a regular chair?" He questioned her in a manner Aly often heard grown-ups speak to each other. As she said yes, she hoped even more this new relationship would work out. "Sorry," he went on to apologize. "I did warn you I was new at this parenting-thing." Elmo, however, got the booster seat.

"Ye-ah," she agreed. "S'k-ay."

"Thanks for going easy on me." /_Aw. Can she really be this passive or maybe she's a better actress than Kristina could ever dream of being._/ The first beverage Lindsey offered her was Ice Tea. She accepted. "You know it might taste different than what you're used to," he advised as he held up and pointed the pitcher, not a store-bought container, in his hand. "I make it myself. Where I grew up most people did. If I do say so myself, mine is better than other homemade ones I've had. Certainly better than the stores. When it's time to make the next one, I'm gonna show you how it's done." That was one promise he did not have a doubt he'd follow through with. He always made time to make his favorite drink, regularly. Unfortunately, when Lindsey went to get a cup, he realized he and Sam had forgotten child-friendly kitchen goods. He had heavy glasses that were rounder the typical "juice" size one was actually a set intended for Scotch/Whisky. Once he set the half-way filled glass on the table, he watched Aly put her tiny right handy on it as she struggled to get her left one to do the same for less than a minute when he felt like he should step in. "May I?" He put his hand on the glass. Permission was granted right away. "First just see if you like it. If you don't like it, tell me."

The small sip and the way the four-year-old swished said tea in her mouth, reminded the lawyer of the way (often pretentious) people would taste wine. It was amusing, but it didn't compare to what followed. "YUM!" The loud, squeaky, declaration was accompanied by wide, happy brown eyes, and a big smile. For the first time, they both gave each other big, genuine, smiles as a result.

"Thanks!" He took the chair next to her before giving her another sip. The tension he had been feeling in increasing amounts since Friday had finally gone down a little. The next time Lindsey raised the glass, Aly began to gulp it down, which caused him to cut her off before, since something told him it wasn't being done from extreme thirst. "Woah. Slow down. No need to turn into a fish, I've got all day, _plenty_ of time," he explained. His choice of words elicited Aly to think of a certain moment with her mother.

* * *

><p>Three-year-old Aly was sitting in her chair in her Grandparents large kitchen at the non-formal table, sipping her fruit punch almost rhythmically with the sound of her mother's tapping sandal on the hardwood floor. Kristina let out a sigh. "Are you almost done?" she asked, as she set the drink down, still with punch in it. "Tom?!" She then yelled out to the butler. "Can you take over yet?" The butler answered back he was still fixing an outfit for Kristina's mother, Ann. He did not mention that before Mr. and Mrs. Young went out that afternoon, they instructed Tom to try and get Kristina to spend as much time with her child as he could. Originally he was asked to leave the house too, and he did understand their perspectiveeffort, but he gave them a list of chores he just "had to" get done; he wanted to be around for his favorite little charge, knowing she was eventually going to need him. After Kristina got her answer, she focused her attention back to her daughter. "I don't have all day to stand here, you know." Even if Aly could have talked at that point, she didn't think she would have known what to say, even though it was far from the first time she'd heard her mother say she didn't have time in one way or another. "Really, I don't have time for this," this time Kristina sounded almost defensive. "I'm going to this event where I'm modeling these pants," she pointed to the crisp white jeans she had on. Aly-then-Angelica groaned, from what she had heard of modeling, it seemed super boring. She had been forced to try once, and didn't even care that her mother assumed she just couldn't do it, couldn't focus that long/ take the direction to look happy or at least miserable, as a result of constant yelling of sounds because she was so very uninterested.

"Can't you _try_ yourself? Doesn't grandma and grandpa pay that woman to try and teach you now?" Kristina huffed regarding the drink. Aly did try for a few seconds, before stopping since she did not want to spill it. For a moment, Kristina softened the look she gave her daughter. "You know, Claudia and Kylie," referring to Kristina's 'best friend', and her child, as she fussed with her long brown and high-lighted blonde hair "model together. We're prettier than both of them." Kristina switched to running a hand through Aly's hair. "Do you know how long it would take them, and even me, to try to get these curls?" She pulled back, but was still next to the table and sighed. "It would be so much better to be like more like Kylie and other kids. I mean, you'll be in school before you know it." As Kristina went on her tone went from wistful to disappointment, yet in her head she was giving 'needed' advice, oblivious to how Aly was getting increasingly upset as she went on. Aly knew where she was going. It's where she always went. "Okay, there's that boy, ah, Billy? But you can't expect to fit in with other school kids just because you have him, as long as you're still fitting in the nursery-crowd better…it won't look good for him, either." Kristina finally noticed Aly was spilling put tears, very upset. "What? I am being honest."

Aly did not kick the table, neither Aly or Kristina's hands were anywhere near the cup, as Aly continued to cry over feeling like a disappointment, Mom's kid-baby. So it was quite a surprise when the cup tipped on its side, spilling bright red punch onto Kristina's 'very important' pants. "What the HELL?!" Kristina screamed. "What am I going to do? How the hell did this happen AGAIN?! Again, with only YOU around no one else will believe it came out of nowhere! Again."

* * *

><p>Before Aly could think about her mother's yelling any more, or how Tom came into the room, and insisted to Kristina something must have happened to the table, and then making Aly her favorite Chocolate-Chip cookies to try and cheer her up, a tap on her shoulder pulled her back into the present time. "Hey, Kiddo, where'd you go just now?" Lindsey asked, recognizing the look of someone in deep thought. Uncomfortable hesitation was the result. "You don't have to tell me," he added, as much as he did want to know. "Maybe some other time? Whenever you're comfortable with it." _That is if she can tell me._ _Nice thinking after the fact, Educated Idiot./_

Aly was used to her grandparents always making excuses for her mother or just ignoring things she would say or do. Tom used to tell Aly her mother was wrong about things, when no one else was around, but he had not been doing it that much since Aly started to talk (unknown to her because Tom did not want to chance any repeating going on.) Her father, however, seemed to have no problem bringing up her mother, and doing so in a way that also made Aly feel good about herself. He seemed smart, so perhaps he could be right about Kristina being wrong. Aly figured if she told him what she was thinking about, maybe he would say more nice things to her. Or maybe he would take her mother's side and say "well, careers are important and make people have moods," as her Nana said to her later in the night of that memory. There was only one way for Aly to find out how it would go. After all, this father of hers was even already Okay at understanding her trying to say things. She had to give it a shot. Well, part of it a shot. She was not going to attempt to say anything about the cup spilling. Just the part that she thought he'd want to hear that maybe he'd see as not her fault. "Ma," she said, barely above a whisper. Lindsey's head immediately snapped to look her in the eyes. Aly sighed before going on. "No. …Mo-m…no…" The last word she said Lindsey could not understand.

"Your mom? Your mom no.. what?" he questioned, trying very hard to figure the statement out. Aly tried again but it was babble. /_Damn._/ "I-I'm sorry…" It was the sincerest apology he had probably ever made. She, his child, was trying to open up to him, and not only did he not understand her, he could not think of a way to help her along. "You wanna try again?" he asked, as he placed both of his hands on her left arm, an attempt at comfort, even though in that moment he felt useless; like he failed her. Again.

"Ma," Aly started again. There was hesitation before she went on, worrying that maybe his patience would soon wear out. But then she had a stroke of luck. The very shiny watch on his wrist had been exposed by his shirt sleeve riding up, caught her attention. "No," she continued, but instead of saying anything after, she patted the watch with her right hand, and repeated "no."

Lindsey's blue eyes moved back and forth from the watch to her face, fascinated watching her at work. /_Mom, Kristina, No, Watch? Mom no watch? What did I say before tha-_/ Finally, Lindsey was sure he had it, as much as he didn't want it to be true, he kind of did hope what had just played out in front of him was what he saw it as. "Your mom didn't watch you?" he questioned, before going right into his second guess. "Did she say she 'didn't have time for you?'"

Aly was relieved that was finally over with, but all she answered with was a nodded, because she was worn out and was becoming slightly nervous at what his reaction would be, especially when he smiled after her nod.

"The time part, is that what you were trying to tell me?" She nodded again. He smiled more. There would be plenty of time to curse Kristina for not giving him the kid she clearly didn't want sooner, later, on his own time. There was a much bigger issue he decided to focus on. One Sam would certainly be proud of him doing. Plus, it did involve putting Kristina down "Well, that's understandable," he stated in a fairly light, explanatory tone; "It takes a lot of time, it's hard for people to understand clever people, if they're not smart themselves, and _You_?" he switched over to professional-informative mode, "You're a _very_ clever little thing. Of course someone average would have to spend a lot of time catching up to someone so smart." Sure, the little research he did on the internet about kids over the weekend kept saying "parents should not talk badly about the other parent", but in typical Lindsey-fashion, he was convinced this was exception to the alleged rule. He showed restraint by using the word 'average' instead of the far worse ones he had in his head. "I wasn't even as smart as you when I was four, though I thought I was pretty smart," he added, not bothering at all to conceal how impressed, on an intellectual level of course, he was.

Aly bit her lower lip and slightly blushed at all the nice things said about her. Her grandparents and Tom also said she was smart, pretty and so-on, but she still got sent away, so she was pretty hesitant to fully embrace her current situation. It was a good start, though.

/_That face! Adorable…wait, since when do I say adorable?_/ Lindsey would eventually learn that was a frequent expression of a pleased Aly. "Why don't we go in the living room? Hang out, relax?" he suggested, partly because he noticed Aly's lower back seemed to be starting to look not at sturdy as when he first sat her down. He made a trip back for the drinks, and set Aly on the sofa, in the corner with a pillow behind her back, which she leaned again, and placed Elmo next to her. Once she looked settled, Lindsey asked her if it would be okay if he went to change.

At first Lindsey started to change in record time, not wanting to leave her alone for long. But when the pile of gifts in his room caught his eye, he paused. Four were wrapped in Christmas paper, and four in Birthday, to represent the holidays they had missed. A children's guitar he went out and bought on his own was one of the items in the pile. "She probably can't use them…" he muttered to himself. /_What do I do with them?/ _It wasn't like she was expecting them, so he figured he would come up with something at another time. He wanted to get back. Upon his return to the living room, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, he found Aly crying, sobbing, again. She hadn't been nervous, as she was previously. Just _sad_. "What happened?" he immediately asked as he sat next to her. "Are you okay?" She shook her head, as tears kept flowing. "What is it? Huh?"

Aly slowly composed herself, as her father's hand stroked her hair, to answer. "B-b-b-" she started to stutter, but her emotions started to flare up again. Re-composing herself, she tried again. "B-b-en. No… B-en!" she finally got out.

Lindsey blinked a few times before responding. "Ben? Who's that?" Without giving it much thought, Lindsey decided to take a risk in an attempt to lighten the mood. As he rubbed his elbow into hers, he teased, "You have a boyfriend?"

Aly immediately stopped crying. "N-oooo," she defended with the utmost seriousness, as if that was just the worst possible thing she could have been accused of. "Eew!"

"Well, I had to check," imitating her seriousness. /_It worked. Huh._/ "So is this Ben just your friend, who's a boy?"

Aly frowned. "B-ff." She said BFF like their sounds, not by their names. The crying started again.

The first time Lindsey ever heard the term "BFF" (Best Friend Forever), was from Kristina; even though she often would say horrible things about hers. Girls around the office used the term. Sam loved to say as far as most people go, it meant, Best Friend Fornow. Aly, clearly, was not going to move on from her non-boyfriend, boy friend any time soon. "I bet he's missing you right now. Right now." /_I wonder how the hell Kristina is going to justify where Aly is when this kid wants to see her?_/ "You know, when we get settled here, I can try to contact your friends parents." The crying stopped, and Lindsey had giant, hopeful, doe-eyes locked on him. "Yes, we'll call him. He'll know you didn't leave him and since you guys are best friends, I'm sure he can't wait to see you. Just give it little bit of time, okay?"

"Uh-huh," she agreed immediately.

"But are you _sure_ he's not your boyfriend?" he couldn't help tease. Oh yes, was very sure. "I bet he misses you a lot already. If he's your friend, who's a boy, I'm sure I'll like him too," he surmised. "I bet your mom misses you." Lindsey had no idea why he said that. He didn't believe she did.

"No," Aly replied, believing it even less. To her, it was a fact.

Continuing speaking without thinking, "My mom doesn't miss me," was the next statement Lindsey blurted out. That one shocked him. He never told anyone that. Ever.

Aly gasped and her eyes widened, in empathy. He was nice and probably grew up like other kids, how could he not be missed?

"It's her fault, not mine. Just like it isn't your fault with your mom," he offered up. Then the blurting out facts of his past continued. "She liked having babies. But babies grow into kids, y'know? So when a baby got older, she had another baby, and so on, until it just didn't happen again." It felt strangely liberating to say that. The only times he ever mentioned anything about his mother was the time he actually told his mother off before he moved away and in some conversations with Kelly. As much as he liked Kelly, now and then somehow, for reasons Lindsey did not get, Kelly would suggest giving her another chance, claim she's a better grandmother, Lindsey would say he was far too easy on her and he's letting himself get walked all over. An argument would ensue, and they didn't like arguing. That was a one of the key factors in why their contact was kept to a minimum. Another way Lindsey knew Kelly talking to him resulted in Kelly having to hear stuff from the family. Taking care of a family, working, brought enough issues into life, Kelly was one person Lindsey always got along with his whole life, he did not like adding problems into his life.

"Ooh," A pout and empathy-filled eyes accompanied Aly's attempt at comfort.

Lindsey shook his head. "No, no. Don't you feel sorry for me. I-it's fine, nothing really. It was all along time ago anyway. I shouldn't have said it. You've been through worse. But y'know, you should know that sometimes, people, Mom's, are just not what they should be. It's not you."

"Da-d?"

"Yes?"

She pointed at him. "Da-d?"

"Oh my dad. Sometimes I think he might miss me He… he… we're okay, he wasn't a bad Dad… but he's stuck up for my mom…"

Aly nodded, knowingly, "Na-na, … Po-p-…Po..-p."

/_So they do enable Kristina. But does that mean they're good to Aly? That better be the case, at least._/ "You like your Grandparents? They're good to you?"

There was hesitation. Up until Friday she would have said yes right away. But they left and then Mom gave her away and she did not know if they were Okay with that. "Uh-huh…." She was obviously confused.

The conversation was getting depressing and Lindsey figured the little girl had had enough of that. Changing courses he told her to 'hold on', as he got up and pulled a picture out of his desk draw and showed her the two adults, kid and newborn around a hospital bed. "That's my brother, your Uncle Kelly, and his wife, your Aunt Amanda. They are definitely going to want to see pictures of you."

"Yeah?" She looked curiously.

Lindsey pointed to the boy, "These are your cousins, that's Luke, he's a little older than you. Five, going to be six." He pointed to the infant, who in the picture hadn't spent 24hrs in the world. "That's Emma. She j_ust_ born, here. Like two weeks ago."

"Wow."

"I know, tiny right?"

"Yea." She was fascinated by the small pink child. Her fascination, however, could not fend off her sleepiness. A yawn escaped her mouth soon after.

"Aw, you must be so tired after the days you've had. Try and sleep now." Aly was too into the idea of napping. Babies napped. She was four. "C'mon, lay here and do it. Just close your eyes and see what happens." Lindsey moved the pillow that was behind her to the surface of the sofa and laid her down on top, followed by covering her with the throw blanket nearby. Further convincing was not needed as she went out almost immediately.

While Aly slept the time was going to be utilized to investigate just what condition she had and attempt to contact Kristina to inform her she was now his number one target of revenge. A phone call to Sam would be made, too, if she didn't call first since Lindsey figured she's dying to hear from him. But his plans were stalled at first. Sleeping children generally were supposed to give off a look of peace, content. But there he was on the couch, looking at his daughter asleep, and clearly uncomfortable. It was not the first time he'd seen that.

* * *

><p>Eight-year old Lindsey tried his best to read his schoolbook. Read. Concentrate. Get his mind off his sister Charlotte who was asleep on the mattress he too was sitting on. Charlotte had the flu, so she got the mattress that was on the floor of the room his family rented. Even asleep she looked miserable. Trying not to look at her, Lindsey glanced up at his brother Jamie and his father throw a football they had found to each other. Lindsey did not understand his father's attitude that he needed to spend time with the family instead of spending every single minute of the day and night attempting to find work. If Lindsey was eight, he would have been looking for work. When Charlotte woke up Lindsey asked their dad to sit with her, and he did, eventually, for a little bit. As long as he could stand it, as he felt helpless watching his child suffer and not being able to help her. When Lindsey went to their Mom she reminded him she was nursing the infant and everyone should be careful not to spread the germs around. She didn't sit with her. Lindsey did. At one point Charlotte told him that if he got sick, not to worry, because she was going to sit with him too, even though he would say No because she was the whole-year-younger Baby Sister. That day never came. Lindsey had gotten fairly sick about two years later, but by that time Charlotte had been gone for two years. She went with her brother sitting with her as he said he would.<p>

* * *

><p>The sound of Lindsey's ringing cellphone brought him back out of his own head. Unsurprisingly it was Samantha. He shut the ringer quickly as to not wake Aly up. He would call Sam back in a moment, in his room. It was around when Sam usually took lunch so it was okay to talk. She wasn't at work. Work. Wolfram and Hart. Lindsey had been so caught up with Kristina since they got home, in part because he called in a few favors so the custody papers wouldn't officially be filed until the next day, that he hadn't spent much time thinking about what his job could mean for Aly. "I'm going to pull this off," he whispered to his sleeping daughter. "You're going to be safe and <em>your<em> father is going to get the right people to get you as well as you can be." /_At least, finding out the medical terms aside, there should not be any more big surprises._/

TBC

A/N: Yep, Aly has way more going on than your other 4-year-olds. Up next: Lindsey talks to Sam, does some research on (what he knows) about Aly and tries to contact Kristina. Thank you for reading. Comments and even suggestions in reviews are appreciated and really considered if they can be worked in.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I tried to make the medical stuff as easy as I could to explain. Some was from the internet, and some is what I know from someone I know who has a variation of said condition (though she's much older than 4 now…) Also, the chapter was delayed because I was sidetracked by Lindsey's story at the end and had to finish/include it. (…and work…) Reminder: In / are Lindsey's thoughts.

* * *

><p>Once in his room Lindsey pressed the speed dial on his phone that called Samantha. However, he wasn't quite sure at the time how the conversation would go.<p>

"I wasn't interrupting something was I? You didn't have to call me back if I was, but I do need details!" the female voice on the other end of the conversation said immediately after picking up the call.

Lindsey could not help but smile, which was not an unusual result of talking to his assistant. "But I didn't have to call, huh?" he teased. "It's fine, I just wanted to talk in my room. She's sleeping on the couch."

"Oh _she_ is?" Lindsey did not need to see Sam to picture her rolling her eyes at him.

"It's not like that! I…I'm calling her Aly-"

"Huh-uh and the child is the one _napping_, really?" Sam allowed herself to laugh at her boss freely, since frankly, he deserved it. But there were more important things to ask. "So… sleeping? Can I take that as a sign that things are…okay as they can be?"

Hesitation followed on Lindsey's end. "Yeah… they're as good as the situation allows. The emotional toll of abandonment can exhaust a kid," he explained, bitterly. "I'm just sorry I'm going to have to exploit that when I have to give a defense to why Kristina's break lines somehow got cut; in the event it gets traced back to me."

"How can it? You were with me the whole time. So she… Aly, she's…"

"A wreck," Lindsey finished. "She's sweet…very sweet… but I don't even know if that's completely real, y'know? She knows she needs someone to take care of her and in her head I think it's one false move and she's out the door." Lindsey leaned frontward on his bed to get a look at the sleeping girl in the living room. "She's… Sam…"

"Yeah?" the young mother was concerned by the tone of the voice on the other end.

Lindsey shook his head and laid down on the bed. "If I did send her away right now, unquestionably she'd think she deserves it. I think she thinks Kristina wasn't wrong, I keep telling her it's not her…but…"

"But you can't undo four years in one morning," Sam cut him off. "You're not expected too. Give it time."

Lindsey sighed, and closed his eyes, even though he wasn't looking at his assistant anyway. "Sam, I have to tell you," his serious tone he started off with dropped as he decided not to go through with his original end to that declaration, "Your balloons were a big hit. Thanks!" /_I can't tell Sam over the phone, especially when I don't know much yet. Yeah, later face-to-face will be better._/

"Oh?" was her immediate surprised response. "They weren't supposed to be from me… I just assumed you'd-"

Lindsey had a much needed, if short, laugh. "Uh, I did actually." /_Damn she knows me well_./ "Your flowers were a hit. Honestly, I still need to look in the other bag. But really, _thank you_."

"You're not welcome, you liar!" she teased. "Lindsey, are you okay? You know I'm here for… whatever. I sit outside your office day in, day out and then I go home to _Teresa_, try and shock me." Her offer was a mix of support and an attempt at humor. It was clear she knew he wasn't telling her everything he wanted too. But Lindsey was resolved to do it in person.

"It's been a long morning. I know you are and I can't tell you how much I've appreciated everything this weekend."

With other things to get to in the unknown deadline of Aly's nap, Lindsey wrapped up the conversation with Sam quickly going over how no one at work knew yet and thanking her again. Once that was done, Lindsey took a portable gray device that looked like a portable CD-Drive out of a box in his room, and brought that along with his laptop into the living room. Once the devices were on the table and he had his seat back on the other end of the sofa, he plugged the two in together. Getting Aly's medical records the legal way would take time he did not want to wait for. While the Magical and Medical world could not mix in terms of cures, treatments, and such, using magic to get ahold of medical files did not count in the "cannot mix" rule. His device generated medical records, physical records, into digital files, if you go either on the hospital/medical centers website or a Doctor's page that the patient goes to. Wolfram and Hart Lawyers often used it to make sure clients weren't hiding anything from them and to get classified information of the opposition. Lindsey took a shot at Cedars Sanai Hospital, since that was where Kristina's mother worked, and it was a well-known place. Once he was on the hospitals website he typed in the needed generator code into the login area of the website, typed Aly's full name into the box that popped up next, and before he knew it he was in the account of ALYoung. He clicked the "Pull All Files" option and once that was done there were lots of different files, and reports from different types of doctors in the hospital. "Learnin' about my kid like I'm doing a research paper," Lindsey muttered, taking a quick glance over at Aly, before he began his reading.

His search quickly took him to a report by a pediatrician and pediatric neurologist that gave her the diagnosis of "Spastic Triplegia", with the details that it falls under the category of a form of Cerebral Palsy. The description of Spastic Triplegia explained that three out of four limps, both legs and her left arm in Aly's case, have muscle tightness to a level that hinders functioning properly, causing poor movement, tone, and at times spasms/involuntary movements. It read as a cosmic punch in the guy to the lawyer who had spent months sulking over not having one functioning limb, a part of a limb really, even though she was born with her condition a few years prior. The irony was too glaring to miss for anyone. To make it worse, Aly's was described as severe because in most cases it causes people to walk differently but isn't bad enough to prevent walking, but hers' did. Everything he read all said that while it would not get worse with time, there was no cure to fix the root cause of her issues; fixing the part of her brain that was sending out wrong signals. However therapies (and according to internet research he did simultaneously, recent new muscle treatments that are being tested), might help improve her muscles/independency/mobility in time, to an unknown extent. He read the description of Spastic Triplegia over and over, with difficulty to move on. As he read the explanation, how it's caused by the brain improperly working that hinders the development, he had a little sympathy for non-lawyers, that have said to him over the years legal documents were frustrating. Reading about motor cortex, receptors, neuron function, was a challenge; a challenge that gave him a headache. Though the headache –and stomachache- had been setting in since he read about the limbs. /_Is she being punished because of me? Did the God that so many worship decide to inflict this on an innocent child? On lots of innocent children…who don't all can't have terrible people as parents._/ Lindsey knew how evil worked, who the players of that side were. God and the side of 'good' he knew less facts about, and questioned it to himself almost his whole life. Aware that he had to keep his composure to not wake Aly, and that he had to finish the reading before she woke up, he did eventually manage to move on.

Next, he read about how in general she has a general weakened muscle tone throughout her body, there was a note on her hips and lower back, and the part of the brain that effects motor skills, also did not form correctly, slightly making use of her right hand harder to use in certain tasks, causing delays in development/milestones though the full extent of how bad that was unknown since the other limbs had the Spastic Triplegia which hindered knowing how bad it was because of the already lack-of-functioning there.

Moving on in his search, he read about her Speech Delay being an "oral-motor" issue, also stemming from her brain having not developed the area of speech production properly. On the bright side, that was just a delay. Reading about how she only started speaking within the past year was one pleasant thing, since he figured that confirmed his theory on how smart she must be, having come what he considered pretty far in a short time after learning. His internet search of the conditions and his reading of the files, taught him that Aly's conditions are not known for 'going together', though it's far from an anomaly. That, may have angered him most of all. /_What did she win the anti-lottery or something?_/

The last thing he read in his first (of what would turn out to be quite a few) expedition into Aly's medical history was how a little over a year ago she had had Hamstring surgery as a result of a strong spasm that tore it on her left leg. That explained the scar he noticed. The date of said surgery, Lindsey also took notice was right around the resurrection of Darla and all that went along with that task. He managed to stop himself from going into the 'What If's' of that. Going down that road was not what he needed, and Aly didn't need to wake up to him in a sour mood, as he figured that would be the result.

/_I need a break reading about her anymore. Christ, what have these four years been like for her? Really, so many people would say it's 'God's Will.' How many so-called-family members said that when Charlotte died. I know it's not the Senior Partner's Will, they've never been in the business of deciding children should be inflicted with such things… then again, I don't have proof God actually does… _/

His last act with the files was writing down the names and phone numbers of her Physical, Occupational and Speech therapists. If they got Aly to her current state, why not continue to see what they can do, he figured. If it comes out to them what Kristina's done, well, then, so be it. His last act at his laptop was looking up the Young's house number. /_Damn I could use a drink but it's the afternoon and I'm living with a four-year-old. Don't do that to her./_

Lindsey figured they some type of Caller I.D. so he blocked his number before making the call, in his bedroom. The phone rang twice before a man answered. "Young Household, how can I help you?" The voice was a man with some type of European accent, and he sounded very professional, like most hired-help in Beverly Hills, do.

"Where's Kristina?!" Lindsey demanded as a reply

"Oh," the man, Tom, replied with a sigh, a sigh of relief. "Please tell me Angelica is with you? You're…"

"Her father," Lindsey finished off, after unintentionally twitching at the mention of 'Angelica'. "Where is Kristina?!" he demanded again.

"Is she alright? My name is Tom, I'm-"

"Do you think she's alright?" Lindsey was not as angry as in his last reply, because the tone of the man's voice seemed that of genuine concern, even to a jaded evil lawyer. That had to mean a lot. "You'd be the help, I guess? Nice job with that." His anger didn't completely go away.

There was another sigh. "I was off, had to deal with a family issue. I came back, called Kristina, and she told me what she did. Now… she's… she's… in Palm Springs."

"Is that a joke?"

"I promise you, sir. I cannot reach Mr. and Mrs. Young, yet…"

"Don't!" Lindsey insisted. "I'm in control of my daughter's life now, those people contributed to how this has turned out. They deserve to be kept out of this for as long as possible."

"Mr. and Mrs. Young love her very much. They've done what they've thought was the best thing, I assure you. I've tried too. She is really okay? I don't know what you know about her conditions."

It almost made Lindsey mad this man clearly cared for Aly, it had him rethinking hating him and telling him to go to hell with his excuses. Lindsey rubbed his temple with his other hand as he sat on the bed. "I did my _research _on my kid," the bitterness came out anyway. "She's napping," he added casually.

"So you even know about the allergy, right?"

Lindsey's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "What?!"

There was another sigh. "Her allergy. Kristina did assure me on the phone she gave you the medicines, along with the Epi-Pen." Lindsey knew what that was because his college roommate had one for a peanut allergy. "She's allergic to beef. Very allergic."

"W-what?" the Southern-Lawyer stuttered. "Beef?!"

"Yes, yes. Milk is fine, oddly enough. But beef, all cow meat, highly allergic."

Lindsey's meal of choice after work when he was eating home was grilling a steak, and picking up a side dish from a take-out place. His fridge was stocked with steaks and chop meat, figuring at the very least all kids like burgers. "Oookay," he eventually replied. "…Thanks…Any other allergies?" There weren't any. Lindsey finally checked the bag of medicine Kristina packed. There was an Epi-Pen which Lindsey recognized as his college roommate had one for a peanut allergy. There was also a low dose of a sedative, one Lindsey was sure he'd seen in Lilah's purse, so he questioned it immediately. Tom assured him that it was a very low dose, and that Aly did not respond well to muscle relaxers, so the sedative is an alternative treatment to help with her muscle tightness, but she only takes it at night because it makes her tired, and it helps her sleep comfortably. There was also a child-dose of a prescription pain killer that was not narcotic, which Lindsey figured and Tom confirmed, was for bad spasms and Tom added that some days her legs just hurt more than others and Aly had become pretty good at knowing when she should ask for it, which was not an every-day thing. Lindsey hadn't considered she was in much physical pain until then. His stomachache increased even more. The conversation ended abruptly because Lindsey heard Aly start to wake up. Before they hung up, Tom did tell Lindsey he could call at any time if he needed to know anything. Taking him up on that was not completely out of the question. Lindsey McDonald would not turn down having a man on the inside, though he did intend on verifying further that he would not be trying to play Lindsey somehow for his bosses.

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><p>All day Lindsey had been wondering what time Aly should be put to bed. He refused to ask Sam over the weekend what time Teresa went to bed as to not sound totally clueless, and he didn't look it up 'what time does a four-year-old go to bed?' on the internet, because he thought that would be lame. Luckily it did not matter what time Aly was generally used to going to bed or what he thought would be appropriate because soon after they ate a delivered dinner, sunlight still out, Aly had been ready to sleep again without having taken any medicine. Lindsey did give the sedative to her so she would not have to be as uncomfortable as her nap was.<p>

Lindsey offered Aly the controversially expensive nightgown from the shopping expedition with Sam and Aly found it to her liking. Once the back of the nightgown was tied as it should be, Lindsey went around Aly to get a look at her in it. The Jaded Lawyer, found himself taken aback. In front of him could have been a cliché poster for "innocence". Aly's curls came down to her shoulders, where the white lacey design on the white silk began. She looked pure, she was pure; and in the care of someone admittedly 'dirty.' In that moment it really hit him that a person like him, and a person like Kristina, had made _her_. "You look pretty," was his to-the-point commentary on Aly's appearance. Aly made her 'blushing face' as her response. "No. Really, you shouldn't even go to bed now. I should put you right there," he teased and pointed to a self of old-fashion dressed up dolls. "Then again, I'm sure they wouldn't like being so outshined…" The two of them were so involved in their interaction, and since the sunlight was still out, they did not noticed the night light in the room had flickered on and off after certain compliments Aly's new father bestowed upon her; including a follow up line about how he needed to take her picture to show her off to her uncle and aunt, and also to Sam, and also telling her how smart she was when they were looking at food to order. He asked her if she liked burgers, she insisted no, and they found a way (as Lindsey had planned) for Aly to 'inform him' about her allergy. As far as Lindsey was concerned playing previously uninformed couldn't possibly be a bad thing if it had any impact on building her confidence.

"You want a story read first before being tucked in?" he eventually offered. Aly accepted without hesitation. When they went over to the bookcase, Lindsey grabbed one quickly without looking at it until it was in his hand. Until it was too late. "Cinderella," he mumbled, as Aly 'Oooh'd' having recognized the cover. /_Dammit, Sam!_/ "Really? This one?"

"Uh-huh." Aly's enthusiasm had dwindled since perhaps even a two-year-old would have caught on to the displeasure Lindsey had displayed in his question.

"This version? Or how about I tell you the _real_ story?" Lindsey countered, confident the way the story should be told –his way- was far more entertaining and _useful_.

"Yeah!" His audience of one (plus Elmo) had been immediately captivated.

He took them over to the bed, sat them –and Elmo- across leaning with Lindsey leaning against the wall with Aly and her stuffed friend on his lap, and opened the book.

"See, what's in here isn't what should be in here. Some of it is the same. Let's see, so there's Cinderella, the Stepmother, and the Stepsisters. First of all, if Cinderella's dad had had a lawyer and made a Will, the Stepmom would never have been able to take over everything, forever. That's just how important lawyers are." Aly nodded as if she had just been told important government secrets. "So Cinderella had her own house taken from her and not having access to any of her fathers' old accounts, she couldn't hire anyone to take Stepmom to Probate court over what should have had existed. She had to do all the housework and cooking, which was really hard because clearly these girls ate way more cake and ice cream than people should," he pointed out the page of the over-weight Stepsisters and Stepmom.

"One day Cinderella heard them all talk about going to a party, which she wanted to go to as well. But her Stepmom wouldn't let her, because she was prettier than her own daughters and she was afraid the Prince throwing the party would automatically like her better. This actually made Cinderella feel good." Aly was puzzled. "Uh-huh, see? It's the real story, like I said. Cinderella is smart, smart enough to know that Stepmom must also be a bad Mom to her daughters, because a good parent would not sell off their children and would want them to marry someone who appreciates her, and shouldn't want their daughter to be a gold digger. As smart as Cinderella was, she was young and desired to go to the trendy party like everyone else was, anyway. She was so sad the night of the party because her Stepmom had done her best to try and keep her home. So she was sad, but like any respectable girl, she wasn't going to sit around doing nothing waiting for" he paged through the book until he saw a picture of mice helping her get ready, "mice to help her." /_MICE? And the cats' name is Lucifer?! No wonder we own Walt's body…_/ "No, she knew she could summon a veng-ah-call a fairy godmother, to help her out. By contacting her right away, that saved Cinderella a confrontation with her family before the party. But like in the story said, she had to be back by midnight, because favors are not free. She arrived at the party with the best, prettiest dress in town, and unlike the book said, it was red, all red." As Lindsey had aimed for, the red dress change was a _huge_ hit with his audience Elmo-cuddling-Aly.

"So because she had to be back by midnight, she still had to run back home, and run away from the Prince, leaving behind a satin shoe. A glass shoe would be completely unsafe, Cinderella could have opted for that as her penalty, but she knew what a bad idea that was, so she took her time limit. A few days went by and all of a sudden the Prince arrived at the house with his assistant, as he had been searching the town for whoever left the shoe. Cinderella was not quick to come forward because a guy going door-to-door is a lot like stalking, and a respectable girl knows that kind of behavior is not something you should take as a good thing. As her not-as-smart stepsisters were thrilled with the idea of the Prince maybe stalking one of them, Cinderella hid in another room to think through what she was going to do. The Prince was on his way out, though, when the perfect way to make everyone who treated her badly really, really, suf-ah-wish they hadn't, came to her. She showed herself in the other room and put the shoe on. The Prince, thrilled he found the girl, agreed to speak with Cinderella alone. Once they were alone Cinderella laid out the rules. They would get married so he would look good to his father and The Kingdom, but Cinderella was not going to let this stranger tell her what to do, and he would have to work on his neediness. Cinderella was going to get her own space in the castle and they would get to know each other, but in public they would act just as a loving Prince and Princess should for both of their benefit, and most importantly, royalty or not, she wasn't a signing a Pre-Nup without an independent lawyer from another Kingdom looking it over. She was really going to make him look good, because as his Princess, she told him she would work forming an organization, a group that makes sure children, of all kinds of families, are being cared for properly, which the townspeople would love them for. The Prince finally saw more of Cinderella not just her looks. All the other girls he met that day fell at his feet, which of course felt good, but here was a girl who had brains, a personality, bal-er-courage, standing up to a Prince and laying out her own rules, she was exactly who every girl should be like, that Sa-Cinderella." /_Whoops. Where'd that come from?_/ Aly didn't understand half of what was said even though Lindsey had to tried to be conscious to keep it at her level, but the story had her in giggles by the end anyway. After all, big words are funny, Aly was sure of that fact.

Cinderella, as told by Lindsey, ended with "and the two of them lived as happily as two people with a solid agreement, money and a castle could be. The end."

"Yay!', chirped the sleepy child who had been looking up at her entertainment as if he was, quite possibly, almost as fun as Elmo. Almost.

"You really liked it?" Lindsey questioned, with an unfamiliar high pitch. Some might even have called it excitement.

"Yeah." The combination of sleepy and happy lost it's even place on Aly's face. Sleep had taken over almost completely.

Once Aly was in a comfortable position under the covers with Elmo, Lindsey had one thing to address before she actually fell asleep. "So you've been such a good girl today. I know that you want to be a good girl all the time, right?" Aly nodded. "So if you need _anything _ tonight, and every night, bathroom, a drink, if you're not feeling well, anything, you will tell me right? You can tell me because if you say something, I will be able to hear you." Luckily Aly did not question his ability to hear her, so he did not have to explain he had a security camera put in her room over the weekend for Wolfram and Hart and general Evil-Lawyer-With-Enemies, related paranoia. "Do not for a second think you will be bothering me, okay? I am telling you this is what I want you to do, so listen, please. That is what good girls do. But you know that, good girls listen, bad girls don't." Aly agreed immediately, to keep her 'good' status. Lindsey saw nothing wrong with how he phrased his request since it was for a good cause. He had an instinctive feeling Aly would consider nighttime needs 'bothering him'.

When that was out of the way awkwardness set in. /_How do I say goodnight? Good night and leave? I held her so many times today, maybe a hug would not be weird?_/ Lindsey did give her a small, quick hug as he helped her adjust her position one last time. "Goodnight," he told her as he used a thumb to stroke her cheek once. "Sleep well."

Aly waved at him in return with a reply of "Yea… an…y-ou." She felt just as awkward as her father, unknown to each of them.

TBC

A/N: Thank you all for reading this. Again, I hope the medical stuff was understandable. Up next, Lindsey has to go to Wolfram and Hart and familiar characters will finally appear. Suggestions of something you might want to see happen are always welcome and I do really try to fit any in the story.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N1: Thanks to everyone who is still reading and thanks to those who reviewed! It means a lot.

A/N2: Sorry for the delay. I got stuck on where to end this chapter, admittedly. I'm trying to get more into the magic/other aspect of the story but I do find myself writing a lot of the personal stuff anyway.

A/N3: I posted a story not too long ago about Lindsey and Aly meeting Eliot Spencer (of Leverage, played by Christian Kane.) In the story he is Lindsey's twin. It wasn't something I originally planned on using in this story but it was an idea that wouldn't leave me alone. If anyone is interested in that: s/9781282/1/A-Twin-Too-Many

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><p>Lindsey surprisingly fell asleep early himself, around nine-pm which he could not remember the last time he fell asleep that early, however he woke up around one-am and that was pretty much it for his night's sleep. Aly appeared to be more comfortable than she had been all day and in a solid sleep, so Lindsey checked on her every so often but he mainly kept himself busy by reading Aly's medical files more. He read about how Aly had a staff infection after her hamstring surgery and had to stay at the hospital longer, her bad pneumonia made worse by her over all weaker body and how her meat reaction actually stopped her breathing and kept her in the hospital for several days; those were the worst things he read that night. Whenever he needed a break he spent time thinking about how he was going to tell Sam everything. But how he was going to tell his brother and sister-in-law about him having a daughter suddenly, and then everything else about her, was what was on his mind the most. There was a very slim chance Lindsey would have actually mailed a letter with that information, but he wrote it anyway, several times, as practice for what to say during the impending phone call. Lindsey knew from Kelly telling him when he was dating his now-wife, followed by sometime after the wedding Amanda insinuated to Lindsey herself that she was a virgin until their wedding night. He suspected his brother was too but he wasn't certain. They were both generally easy-going people but he couldn't help wondering if they were going to judge him. He also found himself wondering if Amanda would more than Kelly, and despite Lindsey generally not caring what people think of him, they were both exceptions; especially Amanda. Lindsey and Kelly have been silently (for the most part) judging some of each other's life choices for years, Amanda he always got along with and felt she understood him sometimes even more than his brother did. Other family members were not on his priority list at that time.<p>

When five in the morning rolled around it changed what was supposed to be Lindsey's second day off. First the overnight Wolfram and Hart secretary called him, which he ignored figuring she didn't know not to call him that day. Not long after that call Lindsey got another he couldn't ignore. The caller was Dr. Aldis Stark; the man Lindsey successfully represented the week prior on organ harvesting/trafficking, medical negligence, which were just what the courts knew about. During the trial, as he'd done in the past, Lindsey amused him by thinking the defense should be he had to turn to this line of work since smart doctors get legitimate jobs. Lindsey also suspected money exchanged hands for his med school diploma. He believed Stark attended, it just baffled him how he passed with his long history of being making _stupid_ mistakes leading to all his legal troubles. Despite that, Aldis Stark was wealthy, demon connected, did work occasionally for Wolfram and Hart (he was better when he pushed the limits of medical/magical interactions as far as they could go than when he was doing "real" medical work) so he was not someone Lindsey could ignore. Not surprisingly he wanted to meet in a few hours Lindsey couldn't say no. He did consider it could be good to get it over with going to the office sooner than later, seeing if everyone knew and if he'd become gossip. Another plus was if everyone did know he'd be able to show being a parent was not going to get in the way of being a lawyer. It was being a lawyer that would get in the way of being a parent. _/How am I going to tell Aly? I made such a big deal over spending these two days together… can she even handle being left so soon? Crap, who am I going to leave her with? It can't be just anybody./ _ Before he got to Aly, he called Sam. Sam had given him the name of a friend who babysat regularly over the weekend. Lindsey played his paranoia card (after they tried to find a way around Lindsey having to leave), and told her he would feel more comfortable with someone more than a babysitter, he also informed her that Aly has a serious allergy that needs to be stayed on top of. At one point he was willing to offer her mom a moonlighting opportunity. Sam mentioned her previously mentioned friend Peter just got out of nursing school and was applying for jobs. "Well, I'm…what do they call it? Baby-Daddy? Or something else? Either way, might as well add a gay male nurse-nanny to my life to bring me fully up to date in this modern world," was how he accepted the offer before he hung up to contact Peter.

Telling Aly was not the experience he thought it would be. She didn't seem upset in the slightest. The look on her face that clearly said "oh, this again, heard it before", was what he mostly got, even as he explained he really did not want to go. Whether that was better or worse, he wasn't sure about. He didn't expect her to miss him, but thought she wouldn't be that okay with being left, considering what Kristina did; but it was just another day of someone else taking care of her to Aly. Once Aly and Peter were introduced Lindsey was off to work.

Aldis Stark was already in Lindsey's office when he arrived. The men got right down to business. Aldis could not risk dumping bodies, they were bodies he was getting from demons, beyond the point where he could do anything to save them, but some organs and body parts he could make viable to be sold and transplanted. During times things went wrong during surgery, a number Lindsey believed the doctor has always lowballed with him but couldn't prove it, families would pressure him to do something with the body as they couldn't either because of what was spent on the surgery, any side effects that happened for the ones he used magic on, in ways likened to how Lindsey got his hand back, that came with the kind of side effects from the magic, or not wanting to get caught in any way with the illegal acts. To Lindsey's continued surprise he did know people have come out of Stark's procedures better, healthy, and they might not have been as lucky waiting and qualifying the legal ways. Talking him out of the "business" was pointless at this point, Lindsey knew that. The man was deep into legal debt and if getting caught hadn't scared him straight by now, nothing Lindsey could say would. Plus, that would run the risk of this guy somehow ending up in a legitimate medical facility and there were too many ways Lindsey could think of how it could turn into a fiasco quickly. In Lindsey's mind that morning he'd rather read a manual on how to do a medical procedure on Aly should she need one than ever let that "doctor" so much as draw her blood. "Okay, here's what I can do," Lindsey offered, rubbing his temple. "I think I heard my secretary arrive, she's going to get you the number of a guy named Magnus Hansley. Explain your situation and he'll tell you want he can do. He's a client as well." Once Lindsey heard Stark leave he got up himself and stood in his office doorway. "All my hard work in law school and I'm a glorified matchmaker," he complained to Sam. "Get in here," he hadn't meant for it to come out sounding like a command as it had.

Sam followed Lindsey into his office. "Tell me you're just mad about Stark," she stated right after closing the door. Lindsey was standing behind his chair, holding the back until he motioned for Sam to sit down. "You look like you need to sit down yourself," she said as she did sit in one of the chairs on the other sit of his desk. Lindsey sat too. "Lindsey, what-"

"Well, on the bright side, you know all those things you said I missed out on?" he cut off, "turns out I didn't miss all of them, not her first steps," the words flew out of his mouth laced with resentment, not at anyone, not even at Kristina, just… at life. Sam did not interrupt because it was clear to her whatever Lindsey had said and was going to say, was stuff he needed to say out loud, to a friend. "I carried her everywhere in the apartment yesterday to give her a break from her wheelchair." Sam only expressed shock in her facial expression, still letting him go on uninterrupted. "She tried to drink on her own, I should get juice boxes or something so she can. I didn't have to feed her the pizza after I cut it, she does like to do what she can on her own but I… wanted to give her a break, even a small one. Or maybe it was my guilt because I hadn't done anything for her until yesterday, haven't done anything to _help _her until yesterday. Maybe she would need a little less help if I had…" Lindsey finished by handing Sam a paper from his briefcase that was a synopsis of Aly's condition.

Even after Sam read it, it took her a minute to look up at Lindsey. It was obvious the doting mom was heartbroken reading such a thing about a child, let alone her friends' child. "Lindsey… I…" she started to stutter.

"I wanted to tell you in person." He explained. Sam nodded, understanding. "You don't have to say anything. We both know all the obvious standard lines people say over and over again in bad… un-ideal situations", he pointed out. "She is very sweet," he lightened his tone.

"So I hear, you said that yesterday, too," Sam smiled, hoping it was a sign that they started bonding.

"I don't know if it's the worst part or best part, she's very smart. Very smart, she can't say a lot of words, but she can get her point across in creative ways, on the spot," he briefly smiled, in a way Sam had never seen him do, has he described her intelligence, still thinking about her quick thinking with the watch. But the smile faded as he moved on. "She's smart enough to know exactly what's going on. She's different, when she is having trouble expressing herself is when she's the most frustrated, but she keeps going." Lindsey sighed. "It's like she's trapped in her own damn body. She knows what she wants to do and say, but she can't. I sure as hell would go crazy if I was in her position. No doubt. However, I think Kristina is just too selfish to raise a kid, any kid, but I know Aly suspects it's because she's not like other kids. Who knows at this point whose right? I don't know what she's thinking about her grandparents, she knows they went on vacation. I told her they probably miss her, but I didn't tell her they don't know, I don't consider them clean in this because of they knew what Kristina was like, and Aly knows they know what Kristina is like but make dumb excuses for her, they should have… done… I don't know, something. I've seen Henry at functions! A few months ago even!"

"I was going to ask you that."

"We'd nod that's it. Mingling is okay at those types of events as long as you don't look too buddy-buddy with the competition. I had no interest in hearing Kristina's name. He knew damn well the little girl in his house was mine, or potentially mine, and said nothing!"

"Maybe Kristina lied and said it was someone else," Sam suggested, trying to calm her boss down. Lindsey accepted it as a possibility. "Go back to your day off now. Go home, focus on Aly and yourself. Not them."

"They are very much a part of who Aly is, her self esteem-"

"So you make sure she knows that as far as you're concerned, she's the best person in any room she's in. That's it. Just love her, that's what she needs the most."

Lindsey could not admit to Sam although they had connected at times, and Lindsey had gained a lot respect for her in one day, he wasn't up to love, yet. He did take her advice on going home though.

When Lindsey returned home Aly had just finished breakfast, according to Peter who was cleaning up the kitchen. Aly was in her room playing. "I told you I wouldn't be long," Lindsey announced in the doorway of Aly's room. He saw her laying on her bed with her beloved Elmo, with a few other toys around her. "You're still tired?" he questioned, as he had to remind himself it could be from her weekend and not a sign he should take her to a hospital. "You got up but wanted to lay back down?" he continued to ask since she was on top of a made bed.

"She was playing with toys last I checked," Peter pointed out looking in the room.

"Aly did you lay down? Or did you fall? Did you have a spasm? Get too tired from sitting too long? " Lindsey interrupted immediately.

"I 'kay," Aly replied, shyly. She didn't like the vibe her father was giving off.

"That's not what I asked," Lindsey pointed out matter-of-factly. "On day ONE my kid falls and you had no idea?" he was yelling at Peter now, and scaring Aly, "What part of 'watch her carefully' did you not get? You are so damn lucky that somehow it was on her bed. You're the best Sam came up with to watch my kid?"

"Sir I am so sorry. I was checking on her," Peter defended.

"Get out," Lindsey ordered. He would have yelled more but Aly was crying; feeling guilty the nice guy that watched her got fired. Sam would later make Lindsey see it was a mistake that could happen under anyone's watch, Aly seemed fine it so she didn't call for help that was ignored, and talked him into giving Peter another chance.

Lindsey took them into the living room and sat on his favorite chair. "I'm sorry I yelled in front of you. But I need to know when I am not here, you'll be watched the way you should be," he explained, stroking her hair. "You probably think I'm a bit nuts with my yelling outbursts during a regular conversation," he then added, the filter between his brain and mouth failing to work again.

Aly hesitated for a moment, but telling the truth was the good girl thing to do, "…yea."

Lindsey couldn't help but laugh, especially because she sounded so honest about it. "I'll work on that. I missed you when I was at work," he decided to change the topic. "I would have been home even sooner, but I had to tell my friend Samantha, who sent the flowers, aaallll about you. She has a daughter your age, I think you would make good friends. She's likeable, and you're very likeable. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about your best friend."

Aly smiled. "Yea," she said, the indication Lindsey picked up on was that she had already trusted he hadn't forgotten. It felt weird being trusted by someone who deserves to be trusted and who trusts him to do something that wasn't defending felons.

"So is there anything special you would like to do today? Some place you want to go?" he asked. Aly shrugged. "Oh you're leaving the plans to the old nutty guy?"

"Yea," again, she was amusingly honest.

_/Get ready to think I'm insane. Might as well get it over with though./ _"Would you mind going somewhere with me?" She didn't. Lindsey had meant to see Lorne, the demon that runs the club Lindsey frequents over the weekend to ask him if he ever saw Aly in his 'readings' and if so, why didn't he say anything. Lindsey wanted the other world away from Aly as much as he possibly could keep it, but the idea that maybe, just maybe, Lorne could get a reading on her future was too appealing to pass up. At such an early hour it was probably the best time to go since Lorne would be the only one there. "I have to see a friend of mine. He's, well, he's a performer, like you see on TV. So he might be in a costume practicing. The costume is green, with some red actually, some can find it scary. Like scary Halloween costumes." Aly nodded to show she understood. "But he's a nice guy. Is it still okay?" It was.

Over at Caritas, Lorne's club, he was not the only one there when he heard a car (Lindsey's) parking out front "So Cordelia didn't see anything more specific?" Lorne questioned the current man he had been speaking too, Angel..

"No. Just men, business looking men, she said it looked like weird science could have been about to take place, but that probably means magic know? She also had a feeling they were waiting on someone. Two tables were set up in the room too. But no indication of when. Or maybe there was and she didn't pick up on it, they are getting harder and harder on her still," Angel explained.

"I'll keep my ears open."

As Lindsey, with Aly on his hip, walked down the stairs into the club, he noticed Angel at the half-way point. _/What the hell? What force could I have possibly pissed off this much?!/_ Using all the self-control he had, he went to go up quickly. It was too late because Angel saw him too. "Aaand my vacation's officially over," Angel announced at the sight of Lindsey, he didn't see Aly until they were fully down the stairs.

Lindsey's self-control was not good enough to back down from an Angel comment. He did tighten his grip on Aly slightly. Not out of fear, no, she was one thing of his that Angel was never going to touch. It was to make that clear. "Is that the politically correct term these days for bereavement sabbaticals?" Lindsey quipped back, standing in the club. "Met someone else, I assume."

Angel couldn't back off either, especially with how curious he was about Lindsey's company. "Well I wasn't trolling playgrounds looking for clients… or has Lilah been replaced? Just simply looking to hang out with someone your own size?"

Before Lindsey could make a comeback, a very determined Aly corrected the vampire. She pointed at her father and then down at herself to show the size difference, to let the man know he was very inaccurate. Then with her good arm she pulled off her glasses and held them out. "No." It was accompanied by a tone of someone trying to help someone learn something, not sarcasm.

Lorne didn't bother hiding his amusement. Lindsey was partly amused, even with her genuine offer to help his enemy see, but mostly proud of his kid for jumping to make her correct point. She wasn't mad, as Lindsey would have been, she was trying to be helpful. If Lindsey was being honest with himself, if she had been angry, even to Angel, it may have disappointed him. Angel for his part was embarrassed. For a 220-plus-year-old vampire, that took a lot. "Ah, tha-" he began to awkwardly to try to explain himself to the child he wasn't being literal, but had no idea how to get around explaining he was being insulting; but only to Lindsey. It didn't matter though because Lindsey cut him off.

"You don't speak to her!" Lindsey ordered, pointing at him. Lorne rolled his eyes and wondered if he could talk to the girl Lindsey was with elsewhere, as the children bickered. She had to be the mature option by default. Lindsey slightly bounced Aly in his arm quickly, as a kid would do to show off their new toy they were possessive of. "You don't get too!" _ /Well I shouldn't either, but he deserves it far less. I can't believe he's here./ _ Aly didn't like the yelling and the general feeling that this was a not very nice situation, but she was enjoying the part where it sounded like she was important.

"Is there going to be a point to any of this?" Lorne had to interject.

"I'm trying to find that out," Angel defended. Granted on its own it made Angel curious but the fact that Lindsey appeared with a kid when Cordelia had not yet figured out vision, one she doubted she had complete information on just heightened it.

"This doesn't concern you," Lindsey stated.

"There's concern," Angel pointedly made the comment vague as to not clue Lindsey in that maybe he had a heads up on whatever he was possibly up to. Plus, he _really_ was genuinely curious about just the fact that Lindsey acquired a kid and who would leave their kid with Lindsey. Angel took a sniff of the room when something caught his nose. "Wait a-"

"You really are a sick bastard, really," Lindsey interrupted disgusted by the idea that Angel might be smelling the relation in the room. "Sorry," Lindsey added to Aly. /_I should just make a standard issue apology about things like that later…_/

"Angel, you and I were finishing up our conversation before Lindsey came in. Your business is done here," Lorne spoke up. He wanted to get to Lindsey's conversation through his own curiosity. "Really." The lawyer and the vampire exchanged one last look of mutual distain before Angel resigned to leave. "So now can I get an introduction?" Lorne questioned once Angel was gone. "Hi there, I'm Lorne," the friendly demon waved to the little girl.

Aly waved back. "This is Aly, my daughter," Lindsey explained, with a smile directed at said daughter. Lindsey then stared at Lorne to try to read his reaction, to see if that could help answer his questions; he couldn't. Aly was focused on something that could be seen on Lorne, as she expressed when she 'oooh'd' and pointed to his suit, followed by looking up at her father, suggestively. "I'm **never **getting a red suit." That one was one time Lindsey was perfectly fine with the disappointment he brought upon her.

"Not everyone can pull off the color like we can," Lorne cheerfully replied to the red glasses wearing little girl, who he saw as having great taste. "So what brings you here?"

Lindsey told Aly he had to have an adult conversation for the moment, and checked that it was okay with her to be put down at a table, out of earshot. Once he placed her at a booth that would be in his sight, he returned to Lorne to get to his point. "All those times you read me, you couldn't have given me a heads up that I'm a father?" he questioned, trying to sound too annoyed. "It would have saved me from finding out a few days ago!"

"Do I look like Maury Povich?" Lorne sarcastically replied. Before Lindsey could respond, Lorne moved on to a non-sarcastic answer. "Destinies I read can change, you know. I don't see everything. Sometimes it's just a short term road map and people can do things to make destinies change."

"So you did or didn't know?" Lindsey was confused.

Lorne sighed. "There was a time I saw a kid in your future, yes. I had a vibe it was a kid of yours, but I wasn't completely sure.

"So you could have told me."

"With all of the other things I had to read on you, it seemed less important. For all I knew you could have had her later. " Lorne hesitated for a moment before going on. "There was one time I did get a feeling she could have already existed. "When you sang without the guitar, after you lost the hand, that's when. Given your circumstances at that time, I didn't want to go on a hunch, what with your living with a vampire and all, in case you looked into it, found out that it wasn't in the future but now, and decided to take her or be in her life."

_/Crap. That was a good idea./_ "Alright, what about after? And what do you mean if I had decided?" He was insulted. "Yes, my life was in the toilet for a while. But I would have found a way to have some kind of relationship with her." _/I think. Unless I knew what Kristina was like to Aly, then absolutely; in all likelihood./_

"Are you sure about that?"

/Damn him./ I would have established some relationship as soon as I found out. She is four and I only met her yesterday! That shouldn't be."

Lorne nodded. "No, that's terrible, especially for the mini-muffin there. What happened?""

"My ex who deserves her silver spoon in her ass decided she didn't want to be her mother any more. It's pretty ironic considering it seems like she wasn't a mother, the butler seems more her mother, if you get my drift."

"I see. So she's rich. Let me ask you something, if you found out from the get-go, do you really think you would have a solid father/kid relationship? Isn't there a chance Lindsey of four years ago would have thought Aly was better off in the big house, with help, instead of with you, no matter what this woman was like as long as she wasn't being abused."

"Psychologically, an argument could be made…" Lindsey muttered. "I would have been in her life, especially with how Kristina was." Lindsey didn't just say it to Lorne, he was trying to convince himself that there was no doubt that's what he would have done.

"How much? Visits some weekends. My take, you would ration she was okay being cared for by other peoples help, and see her whenever there's an empty place on your calendar. As for your ex, you'd convince yourself you could force her to be better with Aly to make your absence easier."

The worst thing about Lorne said, was that there was a chance it could have gone that way, which made Lindsey angry but mostly angry at himself. "You are saying she was better off not knowing her dad for years? Thinking maybe she wasn't wanted by me?" he challenged.

"I said you'd see her. Now and then, I'm not saying it's better that this situation happened instead, but instead of being a sometimes dad, now, you have her full time. Well, I'm assuming given the comment about your ex." Lorne did not want to refer to the woman Lindsey was talking about as 'Aly's mom' given what Lindsey told him since that's not a mother.

Lindsey looked a little puzzled. "So being abandoned is better? You have no clue how rejected Aly feels. It's disgusting."

Lorne shook his head. "That it is. What if she felt twice as rejected if she knew you but you were off with whatever Wolfram and Hart was sending your way on top of what was going on in her house and it went on just as long or longer? Look currently in your life, things seem to be quiet, this might just be the right time. "

"When you said that you did see a kid, how so?"

Lorne shrugged. "It wasn't very informative, but apparently correct. I saw you and a kid whose life you have a big impact on. I didn't recognize Aly here, but that happens, since I do so many readings. The ex doesn't want to be a mother, now as her father, her whole life is depending on you. Don't let what should have been done take up too much time in your head or you won't get to all the things you should be doing now."

"That's all you got from the reading? Really?" Lorne confirmed it. Lindsey then filled Lorne in about Aly's medical conditions.

Lorne sighed in sadness. "Mini-Muffin can't get one break, huh? I'm starting to think less and less I came to a 'better' place."

Lindsey got right down to his point. "So, I was wondering, I mean, if she'd hum, or"

Lorne cut him off knowing exactly how his statement would end. "I don't need to explain Client Confidentiality to you of all people."

"She's a kid."

"And you are not her," the green demon sighed. "It wouldn't be fair for you to know more about her life than she does, unless you tell her about what I do."

"Nothing about her life is fair."

"I couldn't agree more. But this is like breaking open a diary, would you, oh wait, _you_ would." Lorne made a hand gesture at Lindsey as the face and nod he return clearly indicated Lorne was right.

"For a reason of legitimate concern, yeah, I would. I wouldn't to see if she thought dinner sucked or to see if she ever cut _one_ class," was what he decided to defend it with. "Besides, it'd be an item in my house, presumably purchased by me."

"_You_ feel a need to know, I'm not going to say I understand, since, I can't," Lorne decided to get back to the serious topic. "But… it's not something I'm comfortable with when it's not _her_ choice for possible details of her life being exposed. Plus, Lindsey, c'mon, what if the reading is… I hate even saying it's possible when I have no idea beyond what you just told me and it is a risk with _everyone_, …but God forbid…"

"Well, she's been in the hospital but with treatable things, and the Epi covers her meat allergy," Lindsey defended to see if that would change his mind. "Plus, then I would have a head start to change it should you get anything, you know," he quickly added.

"While in the meantime?"

/Damn./ Lindsey hesitated before answering. He knew Lorne had to say what he said, and he had a point that was hard for Lindsey to ignore, despite still wanting a reading. "What you want me to say what we both know? Yeah… I'll… it won't be easy for me to stay calm among other things _if_ it's bad."

"I can't participate in taking that risk. Like I told you before, her future for the most part, hopefully the God forbids don't exist, is essentially wrapped up in what you do from here. Step one, stop with the self-serving risks."

Lindsey left the meeting with Lorne trying not to show Aly how annoyed he was. Not just by Angel being there. But what Lorne said, his indications Lindsey might not have been around for Aly had he known earlier, insinuations he still has a longer way than Lindsey agreed with to go before he can consider himself a selfless father. There was a need to prove Lorne wrong, as soon as he could. After Aly was put in her car seat Lindsey sat in the back as well. "So, does you mom still have that dog?" _/Well, what she considered a dog./_

"Yea."

"Do you like dogs?" he inquired as his plan was forming.

"Uh-huh!" She really, really, did.

"Do you want to look at one to get for us?" Aly loved the idea. Lindsey did like dogs himself, but had never wanted the task of taking care of one with how busy he usually is at work. His plate was filled even more, if Aly said no he would have been relieved. But she wanted one, so he'd do it for her. /_Actually, protection-wise for her I should have considered this already. This is going to be a pain, but she's so thrilled. Completely unselfish of me, though I do get the bonus of getting to see that face excited._/

**Back at Wolfram and Hart:**

Samantha was at her desk secretly researching Aly's condition while also looking up any information she could find to order any special toys or find activities recommended for kids like her on Lindsey's behalf, even though he had not asked her to or even mentioned he had considered doing so. All of her websites were quickly minimized when Lilah Morgan approached her desk. "Looking up Teen Mom support groups?" Lilah asked.

"Are you looking to be sued for inter-office harassment in the very office you are partly in charge of?" Sam countered. "What do you want?"

Lilah rolled her eyes but moved on. "Where is your boss? I hear you two have something in common these days."

Samantha gave Lilah her best obviously fake smile, "oh but we're already so close with our shared opinions on you." Sam dropped her attitude to get serious, "Lindsey left already if you heard he was here. He has one child to deal with, yes, don't make it two… today."

"Unplanned Parenthood unite!" That comment did not come from Lilah. It came from Gavin Park, 'the new old Lindsey' as Sam sometimes said. Lilah and Sam both gave him dirty looks for randomly inserting himself into their conversation.

"I hope your courtroom statements aren't so lame," Lilah countered. She did not like Gavin and not in the way she did not like Lindsey. She _really_ did not like or respect Gavin as a lawyer or person. Lindsey was at least a good lawyer, not that she ever admitted that.

"My court record is what got me here," Gavin replied. "Who knows though, with Lindsey's out of court actions, if the rumors are true, will get me further."

"Don't count on it," Sam snapped right away.

"Yeah," Lilah agreed, "single parents have to work. Right Samantha?"

"Unless that harassment settlement is _quite_ large," she countered even as she and Lilah exchanged looks that nonverbally spoke of their shared dislike of Gavin and how they both thought it was stupid he was already thinking about if he could work his way into Lindsey's current title.

TBC

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><p>AN: Some of what's to come (can't give it all away): The magic aspect of the story moves forward. Sam and Teresa meet Aly. Aly and Lindsey get a dog (I'm deciding between them actually being in the store or after they bring her home stuff, anyone is welcome to vote on what they'd like.) If there is anything specific anyone would like to see/read happen I welcome suggestions and do my best to make it happen.

Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: The delay was a combination of work, and most of all, trying to decide whether or not I should cut some ideas/situations I want Lindsey and Aly to do as to not drag it out too much without getting into the "what happens around Aly and why" part more. But for now I think I'll include the Lindsey/Aly personal stuff, unless of course you readers sticking through the story would rather me skip some.

I feel bad it was a long delay so I'm posting the Dog as its own chapter to get something up, as I get together other parts (some are written, like I said it's an edit or not to edit, and how to edit situation.)

The prices of the Blue Blood Bulldog are legit, at least as of a few years ago when I knew someone who bred some. The Boxer I got off memory of when I got mine.

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><p>Before they left the apartment Lindsey made a last minute decision to put Aly's chair in the trunk even though he thought they would probably just be going to the club, and it ended up being a good call. He figured he should see how any dog would react to it, if it did at all right away. However, he already started carrying her away from the car before he realized he had to go to the trunk. His prior experience with having only one arm to use came in handy getting it out while holding Aly. To unfold it though he closed the trunk and set Aly on top. The day before when he took her out of the car to get into the apartmentbuilding was at that point the only time he had put her in said chair but since he's mind was in a million places he was not focused on the task, not like this time. Being faultless did not stop him from feeling a sense of guilt about it. Ever the conflicted, contradicting guy, as irkingly confining he saw it as, after setting her down he pulled on each strap tighter –but not too tight- than Aly was used too, using all of them including the harness one she hadn't used the previous day; with all the diligence of someone securing a priceless antique for transport. "Munchkins need to be safe," he felt a need to explain after. "…and comfortable, are you comfortable?"

"Yea."

"You sure?"

"Uh-huh."

"You sure-ly must want to get started looking at puppies, huh?" He amended his question from asking his previous one yet again.

The second they entered the pet store they were greeted by a salesman. Mike was his name according to his name tag. "Hello, can I help you with anything today?"

Lindsey generally hated when sales people tried to attach themselves to shoppers right away, but considering handling animals were a large part of the job, he wasn't too bothered by it. "We're here to look at dogs, you do sell dogs here, right?"

Mike gave them a polite smile as he informed them they did. "We have a selection in all sizes. But our biggest selection is in the toy, lap dog breeds." Mike then focused on Aly. "Are you gonna get a puppy today? Huh?" he said to her using a 'baby talk' voice the whole time.

Aly scowled disapprovingly, and offended at the man who had committed the act that bothered her more than any other, that she had experienced often, then looked up at her father to make sure he saw her face. After her nice day with her father in which she thought at times he was treating her like a grown up even more than a kid, she let her emotions get the better of her and the usually overly polite little girl expressed her disapproval more for putting a damper on her day. "Y-yes," she answered giving her best shot at her most grown-up voice. "Oh, I..'m f-fo-ur," she held up for fingers to accompany 'four'. "N-o," she held up one finger instead of saying 'one' since she knew it often sounded like 'un' or "on" when she would try with her speech therapist, since she was talking at four so she learned that right around her fourth birthday, two was still new, and she wasn't about to be wrong in front of someone that had gotten on her bad side so quickly. She preferred to use fingers in front of people she didn't know, but was determined to say four to get the point across the best.

"We don't need _you_, we're going ourselves" Lindsey added after as he gave the man dirty looks once he was done watching Aly with pride, followed immediately by walking away and going towards where he had then heard barking and saw the large sign that said "DOG AREA". Lindsey had insults in his head, sure, but he figured if he said anything to the salesmen, it could under mind that Aly stuck up for herself, maybe make her think it wasn't good enough, and that was just not something he was willing to risk. _/That's my girl, not allowing some random idiot to get away with that. ...Did I just call her my girl?/_

To Lindsey that wasn't mean or rude, it was deserved so her reputation in his head of her being the nicest person he knows remained untarnished. "Aly," Lindsey said, seriously, on their way to the dogs, tapping her on the neck to look at him, "you're awesome," he finished. Lindsey's declaration got him the reward of seeing her 'blushing face' again but with an even bigger smile, _completely_ changing her mood with one compliment. _/Still adorable. Still feels weird to use that word, even in my head._/ When they entered the dog room at first all the dogs seemed calmed and happy. A bit too calm to Lindsey because he figured they would all get excited at the sight of people. But it could be easily explained. "Like _we_ can be fooled by any blanket 'take me home I'm reeeallly good' tactics," Lindsey said to Aly playfully, followed by a wink. She didn't quite understand what he meant, but it sounded funny so she smiled in return.

"Hello, may I help you with something?" another salesman, Matthew, asked approaching them at the door.

"We're here to look at dogs," Lindsey said.

The salesman looked the two over before responding. "Do you have a size in mind? Smaller perhaps? I call them child-sized," the young man offered up cheerfully.

"No. Large," Lindsey answered immediately. Right after he said it however, he realized that he hadn't actually bothered to ask Aly what she would like. "Ah, I mean, do you want that, Aly?" he then added. Aly looked up at him and gave a tiny one-armed shrug. "So we can look at bigger sizes?" She agreed. "Are you sure?" She agreed again. Lindsey addressed Matthew again, "I'm into something for protection, but obviously would make a good companion for a kid."

Matthew nodded. "I can help with that." The three started around the room. "Boxers have an excellent reputation with children, though they can be quite rambunctious." He showed them two fawn and white boxers. But they didn't fully grab Lindsey or Aly.

Over in a corner was a white dog with brown ears, brown ears and brown over the eyes area, and a couple of large brown spots/markings on the body and a brown and white tail. Aly pointed at it and "oooh'd". So that's where they went next.

Lindsey read the title on the cage. "Alpalaha Blue Blood Bulldog. I've never heard of such a breed."

"Well, they are extremely rare," Mathew explained, "that's why we only have one. She's six months and two weeks old. We usually don't get them in that old but the owners have a hard time decided who they want to sell and who should be kept for breeding because of the rarity. We just got her in the last few days. They are _excellent_ with children and do grow to medium to large size, females tend to be more medium that large but still a good build, great for protection even in appearance."

The name of the breed alone (except for the first word which he'd never heard before in any way) appealed to Lindsey greatly. "Twenty-three hundred dollars?!" he had to question when he noticed the price listing.

"I said they were rare," Matthew replied.

Since Lindsey had never heard of the breed he wanted to make sure it wasn't a scam. He excused himself and Aly, called the best dog expert he knew, Samantha, to ask. She informed him the name was familiar but then she looked it up on her computer for him and found out everything appeared to be correct and the price was fair, but others that age had been bought for less. She also demanded he call her later to let her know just how they ended up in a pet store.

"Aly, are you really interested in this dog you think?" Lindsey questioned on their way back in. Aly said yes, there was just something that made Aly want her. Being four she didn't know that it was just sense of knowing when you've found the perfect four-legged companion for you. "Okay then. But don't act like you do too much, please. Just trust me on this, it'll make it easier to get her. It's key in negotiation and bargaining. Consider this your first official lesson, Kiddo," Lindsey then explained, as his plan was of course to bargain.

"Well I think we would like to see the dog first of course before we make any decisions," Lindsey told Matthew when they returned. They took the dog into the meeting room and immediately she took to Aly, circling her, sniffing her, and then gave her hand a lick. Aly started to giggle but then stopped remembering what her dad told her to not do.

Lindsey was pleased with the dog himself to the extent of just having to pet it a few times and give her something resembling a cuddle. He had always wanted a dog as a kid. "She is a good dog. But I don't know, this is our first time looking…"

"You might not find another in her breed so easily," Matthew countered.

"Perhaps. We haven't looked at any other breeds either though. So the Boxers, what do they run?"

Matthew hesitated for a minute but the man in front of him have off the impression he was smart, not someone to try to pull standard salesman tactics on. "Young puppies are about fourteen hundred. Six or seven months you're looking at around seven", he admitted, since he was an honest person who perhaps was in the wrong line of work. Lindsey thought to himself he wouldn't have said the cheaper price so soon. "But there are very few dogs as rare as the Blue Blood."

"But there are a lot of cheaper but high-end breeds," Lindsey countered. This time it was Matthew who excused himself to go talk to his boss. "Told ya," Lindsey told Aly as he left.

When he returned he made Lindsey an offer of eighteen hundred. Lindsey countered with seventeen, just so it would be on _his_ terms. The deal was made then and there. As the paper work was being filled out by Lindsey, Matthew had brought over various dog items to show them such as collars, leashes, toys. Aly of course picked a red collar. "Bet you're excited to be taking her home?" Lindsey heard Matthew casually comment to Aly followed by offering her a high-five, it was the "wrong" hand technically on Aly's part, but her right accepted it. Lindsey made sure he slipped the man a _very_ generous tip. He did not know if that job was the kind were tips are expected, but his main goal was the hope Matthew would somehow share the information Mike, who then might really think twice before doing to another kid what he did to Aly, as perhaps that tip could have been his had he not botched the meeting right away.

As they were leaving Lindsey and Aly had one big decision to make. "So what should we name her?" Lindsey asked. "Remember, Elmo is a _boy's_ name," he couldn't help himself, he really couldn't.

"Hmmm," Aly thought. "El?"

"Elle, E-l-l-e," Lindsey said and spelled, "is a girl's name and it is like Elmo I guess." /_I knew she was thinking Elmo. Sorry kid, I wouldn't walk an Elmo even if we got a male._/

"Yea, Elle," Aly declared.

Lindsey, Aly, Elmo and Elle headed home with only three instances of Lindsey having to yell to the back, one time stopping and turning to the back, to get Elle to not chew on her namesake. It was enough to silently irritate him anyway. _/This is why I'm generally selfish…._/

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><p>TBC<p>

Thanks to everyone reading. Hope you liked this quick chapter!


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